Metformin in Lung Cancer: Review of in Vitro and in Vivo Animal Studies

Abstract

Cancer cells display enhanced growth rates and a resistance to apoptosis. The ability of cancer cells to evade homeostasis and proliferate uncontrollably while avoiding programmed cell death/apoptosis is acquired through mutations to key signaling molecules, which regulate pathways involved in cell proliferation and survival and these mutations allow them to develop resistance to many chemotherapeutic agents, highlighting the need for development of new potent anti-cancer agents. Metformin has long been used as a treatment for type 2 diabetes and has recently attracted attention as a potential agent to be used in the treatment of cancer. The present review summarizes the existing in vitro and in vivo animal studies focusing on the anti-lung cancer effects of metformin and its effects on key proliferative and anti-apoptotic signaling pathways.

Preliminary Results that Assess Metformin Treatment in a Preclinical Model of Pancreatic Cancer Using Simultaneous [18F]FDG PET and acidoCEST MRI

“…The therapeutic effects of metformin on tumor models in both mice and humans have been well studied [32, 33]. However, a decrease in tumor pHe after metformin treatment may seem counterintuitive, because a decrease in tumor metabolism would be expected to decrease lactic acid production, leading to an increase in tumor pHe.…”

Repurposing old drugs in oncology: Opportunities with clinical and regulatory challenges ahead

“…The overall evidence supporting the potential beneficial effects of metformin in oncology has been reviewed previously and is summarized briefly below. The reader is also referred to other reviews for further details of its potential anticancer properties …”

The Analysis of Anticancer Drug Sensitivity of Lung Cancer Cell Lines by using Machine Learning Clustering Techniques

“…The raw dataset chosen for this experimental simulation test was obtained from the National Cancer Institute in USA government and the dataset published in 2013 [13]. The dataset contains details about Small-Molecule Cancer CellLine Sensitivity Profiling Data used to identify cancer genes and lineage dependencies targeted by small molecules.…”

“…In the United States (around 19.4%) [14]; in 2012, 1.56 million people died due to lung cancer [15], and 1.8 million related cases are reported [10]. In general, lung cancer does not build up on its own; however, it is caused by several factors.…”

“…There are three different subtypes of NSCLC [10], Adenocarcinomas (ADCA), Squamous Cell Carcinomas (SQ), and Pulmonary Carcinoids www.ijacsa.thesai.org (COID) [12]. ADCA is mostly described by the major production of mucus and SQ that usually occurs in larger bronchi [13].…”