Metformin Pharmacology in Human Cancers: A Proof of Principle Study

November 30, 2022 updated by: Joseph D. Phillips, MD., Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Metformin Pharmacology in Human Cancers

This is a presurgical (proof of principle, window of opportunity) study in patients with surgically resectable thoracic tumors to determine steady-state tissue and plasma concentrations of metformin.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Terminated

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

To understand the variability in clinical results testing metformin as an anti-cancer agent, it is important to determine the concentrations of metformin that are achievable in tissue. Clinical effects of metformin develop gradually over several days of treatment. Steady-state plasma metformin concentrations are correlated with anti-hyperglycemic response. Thus, achieving steady-state concentrations in this study will allow accurate determination of the most representative concentrations of metformin in normal and cancerous tissues, as well as determine AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling differences in these tissues. As tha Primary Objective is to determine the concentration of metformin in tumors, patients will be treated with metformin extended release (ER) (Glucophage® XR), starting at 750 milligrams (mg) oral (PO) once daily (QD) for 4 days, then escalating to 750 mg PO twice daily (BID) for 3-6 days prior to surgery. FDA prescribing information indicates that metformin reaches steady-state plasma concentrations within 24-48 hours after the start of dosing in humans; thus, the 7-to-10-day time frame of this study will allow sufficient time for metformin to reach steady-state plasma concentrations, in addition to time allotted for potential accumulation in tissues. Metformin concentrations will be measured using a validated liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assay.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
18

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Early Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New Hampshire
      • Lebanon, New Hampshire, United States, 03756
        • Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Invasive malignant solid tumor of thoracic origin (e.g., lung, esophageal, thymus, mesothelioma, chest wall, mediastinum, trachea, pleura) with the intent to treat or biopsy by surgery as standard of care. Tumor must be ≥2 centimeters (cm).
  • Patients with multicentric disease are eligible. Samples from all available tumors are requested for research purposes.
  • Patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus being treated with metformin (any dose) for a clinical indication at the time of study enrollment are eligible, and will continue metformin treatment as clinically indicated during the presurgical study period. Their dose of metformin will NOT be changed.
  • Patients not on metformin at the time of study entry must be willing to take metformin extended release (Glucophage® XR, 750 mg QD for 4 days, then 750 mg BID for 3-6 days) for a total of 7-10 days prior to surgery.
  • Patients do not require a diagnosis of diabetes to be enrolled in the study.
  • All patients must be willing to keep a drug diary indicating the dates and times of metformin administration.

Patients must meet the following clinical laboratory criteria:

  • Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) greater than or equal to 1,500/mm3 and platelet count greater than or equal to 75,000/mm3.
  • Total bilirubin less than or equal to 1.5x the upper limit of the normal range (ULN).
  • Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) less than or equal to 3x ULN.
  • Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) > 60 mL/min/1.73m2 or estimated creatinine clearance (eCrCL) > 60 mL/min
  • Ability to give informed consent.
  • Patients must be willing to provide 20 milliliters (mL) of blood for research use.
  • Patient must be willing to provide consent for use of archived tissue for research.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of diabetes that is currently being treated without metformin.
  • Patients who, at the time of study entry, are not taking metformin for a clinical indication, and who will need a radiographic analysis with an iodinated contrast agent during the metformin study treatment period.
  • This criterion does not apply to patients taking clinically indicated metformin at the time of study entry.
  • History of liver disease as defined with liver function tests (LFTs) above those in the inclusion
  • Known hypersensitivity to metformin.
  • History of reactive hypoglycemia.
  • Active or history of lactic acidosis, metabolic acidosis, or diabetic ketoacidosis.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Metformin
Patients enrolled will be treated with metformin (administered orally; 750 mg QD for 4 days, then 750 mg BID for 3-6 days; or clinically indicated metformin) for a total of 7-10 days prior to surgery, up until the night before surgery.
Drug: Metformin
Metformin will be given to patients prior to surgery.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Lung Tumor Tissue Concentration of Metformin
Time Frame: Within 7 days from surgery
To determine the intra-tumor concentrations of metformin, with a standard deviation ≤25% of the mean, in patients with solid tumors of thoracic origin administered metformin extended release.
Within 7 days from surgery

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Concentration of Metformin in Adipose Tissue
Time Frame: Within 7 days from surgery
To determine the concentration of metformin in adipose tissue.
Within 7 days from surgery
Concentration of Metformin in Tumor-adjacent Normal Tissue
Time Frame: Within 7 days from surgery
To determine the concentration of metformin in tumor-adjacent normal tissue.
Within 7 days from surgery
Concentration of Metformin in Plasma.
Time Frame: Within 7 days from surgery
To determine the concentration of metformin in plasma.
Within 7 days from surgery
Concentration of Metformin in Whole Blood.
Time Frame: Within 7 days from surgery
To determine the concentration of metformin in whole blood.
Within 7 days from surgery

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
AMPK Activity Alterations.
Time Frame: Within 7 days from surgery.
To determine whether metformin alters AMPK activity in tumor cells.
Within 7 days from surgery.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Joseph Phillips, MD, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
May 15, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
November 30, 2021

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
November 30, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 14, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 23, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 26, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
October 3, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 30, 2022

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
November 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • D17188

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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