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An Analysis of the Potential Benefits of Metformin on Disease Recurrence in Oral and Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Author(s) -
Christopher F. Thompson,
Marilene B. Wang,
Yas Sanaiha,
Chi-Kong Lai,
Tristan Grogan,
David Elashoff,
Maie A. St. John
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of cancer therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2151-1942
pISSN - 2151-1934
DOI - 10.4236/jct.2013.45109
Subject(s) - metformin , medicine , diabetes mellitus , cancer , type 2 diabetes mellitus , retrospective cohort study , type 2 diabetes , disease , proportional hazards model , oncology , basal cell , gastroenterology , endocrinology

Objective: Diabetes mellitus type 2 has been associated with increased cancer risk and cancer related mortality. Metformin, one of the most widely used anti-diabetic medications, has been found to have important anticancer properties in addition to hypoglycemic effects. The effects of metformin on clinical outcomes in oral cavity (OC) and oropharyngeal (OP) squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) have not been thoroughly analyzed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of metformin use on cancer recurrence in diabetic patients with oral cavity and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Design: Retrospective review. Setting: Academic tertiary medical center. Patients: Seventy-seven patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 and oral cavity or oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma were treated and followed at our tertiary academic institution and the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System from 1998 to 2012. Main Outcome Measure: Cox proportional hazards models and Kaplan-Meier curves were constructed to determine if metformin has an effect on disease recurrence after primary cancer treatment. Results: Metformin does not appear to have a significant effect on disease recurrence in patients with OC/OP SCC and diabetes mellitus type 2 (p = 0.53). Even when including only patients with stage I or II disease, metformin still did not decrease recurrence (p = 0.60). Conclusion: Herein, our data suggest that metformin use does not significantly impact time until recurrence for diabetic patients with OC/OP SCC.

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