Metformin: an emerging new therapeutic option for targeting cancer stem cells and metastasis.
Metformin: an emerging new therapeutic option for targeting cancer stem cells and metastasis.
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DOI：
10.1155/2012/928127
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发表时间：
2012
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Munkarah A
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Rattan R;Ali Fehmi R;Munkarah A
转移是一个复杂的过程，来自原发肿瘤部位的少量癌细胞经过多次改变，使它们能够在宿主的另一个位置形成继发性肿瘤，通常是在多个部位。癌细胞从上皮型向间充质表型的转变被认为是转移进展的第一步。最近，对癌症干细胞的认识增加了对转移理解的困惑，因为研究表明癌症干细胞是转移的起始者。所有目前和研究中的药物都无法预防或逆转转移，因此大多数转移癌症是无法治愈的。一种可以考虑的潜在药物是二甲双胍，一种口服降血糖药物。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了二甲双胍在靶向上皮间充质转化和肿瘤干细胞对抗癌症转移方面的潜力。
Metastasis is an intricate process by which a small number of cancer cells from the primary tumor site undergo numerous alterations, which enables them to form secondary tumors at another and often multiple sites in the host. Transition of a cancer cell from epithelial to mesenchymal phenotype is thought to be the first step in the progression of metastasis. Recently, the recognition of cancer stem cells has added to the perplexity in understanding metastasis, as studies suggest cancer stem cells to be the originators of metastasis. All current and investigative drugs have been unable to prevent or reverse metastasis, as a result of which most metastatic cancers are incurable. A potential drug that can be considered is metformin, an oral hypoglycemic drug. In this review we discuss the potential of metformin in targeting both epithelial to mesenchymal transition and cancer stem cells in combating cancer metastases.