Metformin and cancer in type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and comprehensive bias evaluation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Existing observational studies provide conflicting evidence for the causal effect of metformin use on cancer risk in patients with type-2 diabetes, and there are concerns about bias affecting a number of studies.

Methods

MEDLINE was used to identify observational studies investigating the association between metformin and overall or site-specific cancer in people with type-2 diabetes. A systematic data extraction and bias assessment was conducted, in which risk of eight bias domains (outcome, exposure, control selection, baseline confounding, time-dependent confounding, immortal time, missing data, censoring methods) were assessed against pre-defined criteria, and rated as unlikely, low, medium or high.

Results

Of 46 studies identified, 21 assessed the effe

SUBMITTER: Farmer RE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5837266 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature