Metformin May Improve the Prognosis of Patients with Pancreatic Cancer

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> Pancreatic cancer risk is increased in patients with type 2 diabetes, while being reduced bymetformin treatment. However, it is unclear whether metformin could be associated with clinical outcomes ofpatients with pancreatic cancer and concurrent type 2 diabetes. Materials and <br/><b>Methods</b>: A pooled analysis of4 publications including 1,429 patients was performed to investigate the association of metformin and overallsurvival(OS) in patients with pancreatic cancer and concurrent type 2 diabetes. <br/><b>Results</b>: A borderline significantrelative survival benefit was found in metformin treated patients compared with non-metformin treated patients(hazard ratio 0.80; 95% CI: 0.62-1.03). <br/><b>Conclusions</b>: These results suggest that further investigation is warrantedof whether metformin may benefit the survival of patients with pancreatic cancer and concurrent type 2 diabetes.