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Repurposing metformin as a potential anticancer agent using in silico technique.
Mona Mahfauz1, Ozel Yuruker2, Rasime Kalkan3
1Faculty of Pharmacy, Cyprus Health and Social Sciences University, Güzelyurt, Cyprus.
Summary
Metformin, a diabetes drug, shows promise as an anticancer agent. This study identified specific genes in cancer cell lines sensitive to metformin, suggesting potential for targeted cancer therapies.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Pharmacology
- Bioinformatics
Background:
- Metformin, a common diabetes medication, is being investigated for repurposing as an anticancer drug due to observed correlations with reduced cancer morbidity and mortality.
- Numerous studies and clinical trials are exploring metformin's potential anticancer applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential of metformin as a cancer treatment using pathway/gene-set analysis.
- Utilized Gene2drug, Gene Ontology (GO), and DepMap databases to assess metformin's efficacy against cancer.
Main Methods:
- Analyzed 1826 tumor cell lines using the Drug Sensitivity (Primary Purposing Primary Screening) 19Q4 Tool.
- Employed pathway/gene-set analysis for comprehensive evaluation.
Main Results:
- Identified 9 specific genes (SGPL1, CXCR6, ATXN2L, LAMP3, RTN3, BTN2A1, FOXM1, NQO1, and L1TD1) out of 402 that demonstrated statistical sensitivity to metformin across the analyzed cancer cell lines.
- The analysis included 1826 distinct cancer cell lines.
Conclusions:
- This in-silico study highlights the sensitivity of certain cancer cell lines to metformin.
- Findings suggest promising avenues for metformin-based and tumor-targeted treatment strategies.
- Further research is recommended to elucidate metformin's precise mechanism of action and confirm its therapeutic effectiveness in cancer.
