Metformin is a medicine used to treat patients with type 2 diabetes and sometimes in women with polycstic ovary syndrome. It may also be referred to by its brand names Bolamyn®, Diagemet®, Glucient®, Glucophage® or Metabet®.
NICE do not recommend metformin as a treatment for brain tumours.
Although metformin is used to reduce blood glucose levels in patients with diabetes, it does not lower glucose levels in the brain.
Research has shown that metformin is able to help cells in the hippocampus regenerate in a study of children who had received radiotherapy for treatment of a brain tumour. This is the part of the brain involved in forming, storing and processing memory, the results of the study showed an improvement in memory.
Metformin is not a treatment for brain tumours but may help to improve quality of life. Further clinical trials are needed.
NICE do not recommend metformin as a treatment for brain tumours. It is important to speak to your healthcare team before taking any new medications or making changes to your current brain tumour treatment.
If you have further questions, need to clarify any of the information on this page, or want to find out more about research and clinical trials, please contact our team:
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