Metformin and reduced risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in diabetic patients: a meta-analysis
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Recent epidemiological studies suggest that metformin treatment may reduce the risks of cancer and overall cancer mortality among patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). However, data on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are very limited and inconsistent. This meta-analysis was designed to pool data currently available to determine the association between metformin use and HCC among diabetic patients. METHODS: The Medline and Embase databases were searched to identify the relevant studies between January 1966 and December 2011. The overall analysis was derived using a random-effects meta-analysis model (DerSimonian and Laird method). Subgroup analysis was performed to explore the source of heterogeneity and validate the results from overall analysis. The Newcastle-Ottawa Quality assessment scales were adopted for quality assessment; Begg's funnel plot and Egger's regression asymmetry test were used to detect the publication bias. RESULTS: A total of seven studies were identified, including three cohort studies and four case-control studies. Based on the available data, the overall prevalence of HCC was 3.40% (562/16,549) in DM patients. The overall analysis showed a significantly reduced risk of HCC in metformin users versus nonusers in diabetic patients (relative risk (RR) 0.24, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.13-0.46, p < 0.001). Fifteen subgroup analyses were performed, and most of them (12/15 = 80%) provided supporting evidence for the results of overall analysis.…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Metformin as an adjuvant in breast cancer treatment
- Metformin Lysosomal Targeting: A Novel Aspect to Be Investigated for Metformin Repurposing in Neurodegenerative Diseases?
- Aberrant HSF1 signaling activation underlies metformin amelioration of myocardial infarction in mice
- Metformin induces ZFP36 by mTORC1 inhibition in cervical cancer-derived cell lines
- Protein Interaction Network for Identifying Vascular Response of Metformin (Oral Antidiabetic)
- Preventing Long COVID With Metformin
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.