Metformin Intervention—A Panacea for Cancer Treatment?
by
, , ,
Angelika Buczyńska
1,*
,
Iwona Sidorkiewicz
1,
Adam Jacek Krętowski
1,2,
Monika Zbucka-Krętowska
3 and
Agnieszka Adamska
2,* 1
Clinical Research Centre, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-276 Bialystok, Poland
2
Department of Endocrinology, Diabetology and Internal Medicine, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-276 Bialystok, Poland
3
Department of Gynecological Endocrinology and Adolescent Gynecology, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-276 Bialystok, Poland
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Cancers 2022, 14(5), 1336; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14051336
Submission received: 11 January 2022
/
Revised: 25 February 2022
/
Accepted: 4 March 2022
/
Published: 4 March 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adjuvant Therapy in Cancer)
Simple Summary
This literature analysis is focused on the pleiotropic action associated with metformin treatment. Precisely, metformin treatment exerts many health effects, mainly by inhibiting inflammatory processes, increasing antioxidant capacity, and improving glycemic and lipid metabolism, which overall may be particularly useful in cancer patients’ clinical management. Consequently, metformin is the main novel therapeutic extensively studied in various clinical trials, which are also summarized in this review.
Abstract
The molecular mechanism of action and the individual influence of various metabolic pathways related to metformin intervention are under current investigation. The available data suggest that metformin provides many advantages, exhibiting anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, otoprotective, radioprotective, and radio-sensitizing properties depending on cellular context. This literature review was undertaken to provide novel evidence concerning metformin intervention, with a particular emphasis on cancer treatment and prevention. Undoubtedly, the pleiotropic actions associated with metformin include inhibiting inflammatory processes, increasing antioxidant capacity, and improving glycemic and lipid metabolism. Consequently, these characteristics make metformin an attractive medicament to translate to human trials, the promising results of which were also summarized in this review.
Keywords:
metformin; antioxidant; anti-cancer
