Research Progress of Metformin in the Treatment of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most common malignancies and has a high mortality, posing a great threat to both human physical and mental health. With the advancement of scientific research, a variety of cancer therapies have been used for OSCC treatment. However, the prognosis of OSCC shows no significant improvement. Metformin has been recognized as the first-line drug for the treatment of diabetes, and recent studies have shown that metformin has a remarkable suppressive effect on tumor progression. Metformin can not only affect the energy metabolism of tumor cells but also play an antitumor role by modulating the tumor microenvironment and cancer stem cells. In this review, the molecular mechanism of metformin and its anticancer mechanism in OSCC are summarized. In addition, this article summarizes the side effects of metformin and the future prospects of its application in the treatment of OSCC.