Diabetes, use of metformin, and the risk of meningioma.

Background: Metformin is a commonly used oral antidiabetic agent that has been associated with decreased cancer risk. However, data regarding the association between metformin use and the risk of meningioma are unavailable.

Methods: We conducted a matched case-control analysis using data from the U.K.-based Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) to analyse diabetes status, duration of diabetes, glycemic control, and use of metformin, sulfonylureas, and insulin in relation to the risk of meningioma. We conducted conditional logistic regression analyses to determine relative risks, estimated as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and adjusted for body mass index, smoking, history of arterial hypertension, myocardial infarction, and use of estrogens (among women).

Results: We identified 2,027 meningioma cases and 20,269 controls. For diabetes there was the suggestion of an inverse association with meningioma (OR = 0.89; 95%CI = 0.74-1.07), which was driven by an inverse relation among women (OR = 0.78; 95%CI = 0.62-0.98), in whom we also noted a suggestive inverse association with duration of diabetes (p-value for trend = 0.071). For metformin there was a suggestive positive relation, particularly after matching on duration of diabetes and HbA1c level (OR = 1.64; 95%CI = 0.89-3.04). Sulfonylureas showed no clear association (OR = 0.91; 95%CI = 0.46-1.80). For insulin there was the suggestion of an inverse relation, in particular when comparing a high vs. low number of prescriptions (OR = 0.58; 95%CI = 0.18-1.83).

Conclusion: Further studies are needed to solidify a possible inverse association between diabetes and meningioma risk and to clarify the role of antidiabetics in this context.