User login
CHICAGO — The diabetes drug metformin may have an antitumor effect, according to data from a retrospective study of more than 2,500 breast cancer patients, including 155 women with diabetes.
Patients on metformin for diabetes had a threefold higher pathologic complete response (pCR) rate after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, compared with those who had diabetes but were not on metformin (24% vs. 8%), Dr. Sao Jiralerspong of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston said in a poster at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
The rate of pCR, defined as no residual disease in the breast or lymph nodes, also was higher in the cohort of patients taking metformin than in those without diabetes, who had a pCR rate of 16% after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Recent data suggest metformin may reduce the incidence of cancer and cancer-related mortality in diabetic patients. It activates adenosine monophosphate-activated protein (AMP) kinase, inhibits the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, and has been shown to inhibit the growth of breast cancer cell lines in preclinical studies, said Dr. Jiralerspong.
He and his colleagues reviewed the charts in the M.D. Anderson Breast Medical oncology database of 2,529 patients who received neoadjuvant systemic therapy for early-stage breast cancer. Of those, 2,374 patients did not have diabetes; 68 had diabetes and were treated with metformin, and 87 had diabetes but were not treated with metformin. The median age was 49 years, most tumors were hormone receptor-positive; 25% were HER2-positive. Patients' baseline characteristics were similar, but diabetic patients tended to be older and more obese. Metformin use was independently predictive of pCR after adjustment for diabetes, body mass index, age, stage, grade, estrogen/progesterone receptor status, and neoadjuvant taxane use.
After a median follow-up of 39 months, the recurrence-free survival was similar in the three groups. Overall survival was significantly better, in the nondiabetic cohort (86%), compared with 81% for diabetic patients on metformin and 78% for diabetic patients not on metformin.
Dr. Jiralerspong said further studies are warranted to evaluate the potential of metformin as an antitumor agent. He said he had no conflicts of interest to declare.
CHICAGO — The diabetes drug metformin may have an antitumor effect, according to data from a retrospective study of more than 2,500 breast cancer patients, including 155 women with diabetes.
Patients on metformin for diabetes had a threefold higher pathologic complete response (pCR) rate after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, compared with those who had diabetes but were not on metformin (24% vs. 8%), Dr. Sao Jiralerspong of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston said in a poster at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
The rate of pCR, defined as no residual disease in the breast or lymph nodes, also was higher in the cohort of patients taking metformin than in those without diabetes, who had a pCR rate of 16% after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Recent data suggest metformin may reduce the incidence of cancer and cancer-related mortality in diabetic patients. It activates adenosine monophosphate-activated protein (AMP) kinase, inhibits the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, and has been shown to inhibit the growth of breast cancer cell lines in preclinical studies, said Dr. Jiralerspong.
He and his colleagues reviewed the charts in the M.D. Anderson Breast Medical oncology database of 2,529 patients who received neoadjuvant systemic therapy for early-stage breast cancer. Of those, 2,374 patients did not have diabetes; 68 had diabetes and were treated with metformin, and 87 had diabetes but were not treated with metformin. The median age was 49 years, most tumors were hormone receptor-positive; 25% were HER2-positive. Patients' baseline characteristics were similar, but diabetic patients tended to be older and more obese. Metformin use was independently predictive of pCR after adjustment for diabetes, body mass index, age, stage, grade, estrogen/progesterone receptor status, and neoadjuvant taxane use.
After a median follow-up of 39 months, the recurrence-free survival was similar in the three groups. Overall survival was significantly better, in the nondiabetic cohort (86%), compared with 81% for diabetic patients on metformin and 78% for diabetic patients not on metformin.
Dr. Jiralerspong said further studies are warranted to evaluate the potential of metformin as an antitumor agent. He said he had no conflicts of interest to declare.
CHICAGO — The diabetes drug metformin may have an antitumor effect, according to data from a retrospective study of more than 2,500 breast cancer patients, including 155 women with diabetes.
Patients on metformin for diabetes had a threefold higher pathologic complete response (pCR) rate after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, compared with those who had diabetes but were not on metformin (24% vs. 8%), Dr. Sao Jiralerspong of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston said in a poster at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
The rate of pCR, defined as no residual disease in the breast or lymph nodes, also was higher in the cohort of patients taking metformin than in those without diabetes, who had a pCR rate of 16% after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Recent data suggest metformin may reduce the incidence of cancer and cancer-related mortality in diabetic patients. It activates adenosine monophosphate-activated protein (AMP) kinase, inhibits the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, and has been shown to inhibit the growth of breast cancer cell lines in preclinical studies, said Dr. Jiralerspong.
He and his colleagues reviewed the charts in the M.D. Anderson Breast Medical oncology database of 2,529 patients who received neoadjuvant systemic therapy for early-stage breast cancer. Of those, 2,374 patients did not have diabetes; 68 had diabetes and were treated with metformin, and 87 had diabetes but were not treated with metformin. The median age was 49 years, most tumors were hormone receptor-positive; 25% were HER2-positive. Patients' baseline characteristics were similar, but diabetic patients tended to be older and more obese. Metformin use was independently predictive of pCR after adjustment for diabetes, body mass index, age, stage, grade, estrogen/progesterone receptor status, and neoadjuvant taxane use.
After a median follow-up of 39 months, the recurrence-free survival was similar in the three groups. Overall survival was significantly better, in the nondiabetic cohort (86%), compared with 81% for diabetic patients on metformin and 78% for diabetic patients not on metformin.
Dr. Jiralerspong said further studies are warranted to evaluate the potential of metformin as an antitumor agent. He said he had no conflicts of interest to declare.