Efficacy of metformin therapy in patients with cancer: a meta-analysis of 22 randomised controlled trials

Abstract

Background

To investigate whether metformin monotherapy or adjunctive therapy improves the prognosis in patients with any type of cancer compared to non-metformin users (age ≥18).

Methods

Databases (Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) and clinical trial registries ( ClinicalTrials.gov; the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform) were screened for randomized, controlled trials (RCT) reporting at least progression-free survival (PFS) and/or overall survival (OS). Main outcome measures included hazard ratios (HR), and combined HRs and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using random-effects models.

Results

Of the 8419 records screened, 22 RCTs comprising 5943 participants were included. Pooled HRs were not statistically significant in both PFS (HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.82–1.15, I ²  = 50%) and OS (HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.86–1.13, I ²  = 33%) for patients with cancer between the metformin and control groups. Subgroup analyses demonstrated that metformin treatment was associated with a marginally significant improvement in PFS in reproductive system cancers (HR 0.86, 95% CI 0.74–1.00) and a significantly worse PFS in digestive system cancers (HR 1.45, 95% CI 1.03–2.04). The PFS or OS was observed consistently across maintenance dose, diabetes exclusion, median follow-up, risk of bias, and combined antitumoral therapies.

Conclusion

Metformin treatment was not associated with cancer-related mortality in adults compared with placebo or no treatment. However, metformin implied beneficial effects in the PFS of the patients with reproductive system cancers but was related to a worse PFS in digestive system cancers.

Systematic review registration

PROSPERO registration number CRD42022324672.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12916-022-02599-4.