Metformin improves survival in lung cancer patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A meta-analysis

Abstract Background and objective In recent years, many studies have investigated metformin and its effects on lung cancer. However, since previous studies have shown that the relationship between metformin and lung cancer is complicated, we performed a meta-analysis to analyze this relationship. Material and methods An electronic database search was conducted using PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane library. Outcomes were quantified with hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals to compare lung cancer survival in patients treated with or without metformin. Results Ten studies, involving 4397 participants, were included. In the pooled analysis, we found that metformin treatment significantly improved the survival of lung cancer patients (hazard ratio = 0.75, 95% confidence interval: 0.70–0.80; P P P P P P P P