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01-04-2016 | Research Paper

Metformin may protect nondiabetic breast cancer women from metastasis

Authors: Sahar Mohammed EL-Haggar, Nagla A. El-Shitany, Mohamed Farouk Mostafa, Noha Ahmed El-Bassiouny

Published in: Clinical & Experimental Metastasis | Issue 4/2016

Abstract

Metformin, a widely prescribed oral hypoglycemic agent, has recently received a big interest because of its potential antitumorigenic effects in different cancer types. The present study investigated the impact of adding metformin to breast cancer adjuvant therapy in nondiabetic women on, insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), insulin, fasting blood glucose (FBG), the molar ratio of IGF-1 to IGFBP-3, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and metastasis. 102 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer were divided into 2 main groups, a control group and a metformin group. All women were treated with adjuvant therapy, according to the protocols of Ministry of Health and Population and National Cancer Institute, Egypt. Moreover, the women in the metformin group received 850 mg of metformin twice daily. Blood samples were collected at baseline, after chemotherapy (CT), after 6 months of hormonal therapy (6-HT) and 12 months of hormonal therapy (12-HT) for analysis of serum IGF-1, IGFBP-3, insulin, FBG and cancer antigen 15-3 (CA15-3). Metformin resulted in a significant reduction of IGF-1, IGF-1: IGFBP-3 molar ratio, insulin, FBG and HOMA-IR. On the other hand, metformin caused a significant increase of IGFBP-3. Moreover, metformin significantly decreased the numbers of metastatic cases after 6-HT. Metformin may have potential antitumor and antimetastatic effects that need further clinical investigations. This may be attributed to either the significant increase of the apoptotic inducer IGFBP-3 or/and the significant reduction of mitogenic insulin, IGF-1, free bioactive IGF-1, FBG and HOMA-IR.

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Title: Metformin may protect nondiabetic breast cancer women from metastasis
Authors: Sahar Mohammed EL-Haggar
Nagla A. El-Shitany
Mohamed Farouk Mostafa
Noha Ahmed El-Bassiouny
Publication date: 01-04-2016
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Published in: Clinical & Experimental Metastasis / Issue 4/2016
Print ISSN: 0262-0898
Electronic ISSN: 1573-7276
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10585-016-9782-1

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