Effect of metformin on irinotecan-induced cell cycle arrest in colorectal cancer cell lines HCT116 and SW480.

Objectives: Metformin is widely used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus and found to have a crucial rule in the induction of apoptosis in several cancer types including pancreatic cell carcinoma, epithelial ovarian cancer, breast cancer, and renal cell carcinoma. In this study, we propose to explore the potential role of metformin as an adjuvant of irinotecan to target colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines, exploring the effects underlying the anticancer properties of metformin on CRC cell lines.

Methods: HCT116 and SW480 cell lines were treated with metformin, irinotecan and their combination.