The Effect of Metformin Usage in Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Receiving First-line Systemic Therapy


ERDAT E. C., YALÇINER M., Geris Y., UTKAN G.

In vivo (Athens, Greece), cilt.39, sa.4, ss.2349-2356, 2025 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 39 Sayı: 4
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.21873/invivo.14032
  • Dergi Adı: In vivo (Athens, Greece)
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, EMBASE, MEDLINE
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.2349-2356
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: colorectal cancer, comorbidities, Metformin, survival, systemic treatment
  • Ankara Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

BACKGROUND/AIM: To investigate the effect of metformin usage on progression-free (PFS) and overall (OS) survival in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) receiving first-line systemic therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a single-center retrospective cohort study of patients aged 18 years or older with histologically confirmed mCRC receiving first-line systemic 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy combined with either anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapy or anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (bevacizumab) between January 2010 and December 2022. This study examined the effect of metformin on PFS and OS of patients with mCRC. RESULTS: A total of 134 patients were included, with a median age of 59.5 years; 66.4% of the patients were male, and 23.9% had diabetes. Metformin usage was associated with a significant improvement in median PFS (14.0 vs. 9.9 months, p=0.04) but not in median OS (20.7 vs. 19.5 months, p=0.76). In univariate Cox regression for PFS, metformin usage (hazard ratio=0.62, p=0.04) and anti-EGFR therapy (hazard ratio=0.54, p<0.01) were associated with significantly lower hazard ratios. CONCLUSION: Metformin usage in patients with mCRC receiving systemic therapy may improve progression-free survival but does not significantly affect overall survival. This result outlines the potential of metformin in mCRC treatment, especially in enhancing the progression-free survival. Further studies are needed to confirm the role of metformin in systemic treatment of mCRC.