Metformin-Mediated Glycaemic Regulation as a Potential Strategy for Breast Cancer Prevention
Jinadasa AGRG., Wageesha NDA., Samarakoon SR., Ekanayake S., Akalanka HMK.
Narrative Review, published in Cancer Med (2026) — summary generated from the PubMed abstract.
Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.
- Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
- Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
- Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
- Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
- Emerging · Emerging topic under active research
This page is generated from the PubMed record. The Thai description is an automated summary of bibliographic fields and the abstract, not a full translation, and is not medical advice.
- Study type
- Narrative Review
- Journal
- Cancer Med (2026)
- Reported sample size
- —
- Source database
- Europe PMC
- PMID
- 41603225
- PMCID
- PMC12848602
- DOI
- 10.1002/cam4.71573
- Citations
- 1
Abstract (original English)
Introduction Metformin, the common anti-hyperglycemic agent, is emerging with pharmacological significance as an effective anti-cancer modulator. Its efficacy as an anti-cancer modulator is reported in pre-clinical and clinical studies. Therefore, an attempt was made to identify the possible in vitro anti-cancer molecular mechanisms studied on breast cancer (BC) cell lines. Methods An advanced literature search was conducted in the PubMed database using search terms "Metformin, Cell culture, Breast neoplasms." Different anti-cancer molecular mechanisms induced by metformin (MET) identified in cell culture studies are presented in this paper. Results It was identified that MET induces molecular pathways that exert anti-cancer effects when treated on BC cells. Inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation, adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase mediated anticancer effects, anti-proliferation and inhibition of cell migration, alteration of tumor micro-environment, synergetic effects with conventional chemotherapies and other potential molecules, induced apoptosis and ferroptosis were mainly identified as MET-induced pathways that affect BC cells. Conclusion Metformin induces diverse anti-cancer biochemical pathways through which it exhibits a potential to be used as an anti-cancer therapeutic in BC.
What this study does not prove
- • This study does not prove SVF is an approved treatment or a replacement for standard care.
- • This is a narrative review: it collects no new patient data and does not systematically appraise evidence quality.
Evidence level
Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.
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