Table 2. Meta-analysis of toxicities in cancer patients receiving metformin plus standard treatment.
| Toxicities | N | Metformin | Placebo | RR (95%CI) | P value | Heterogeneity (I2, P value) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No ≥ Grade 3 | No ≥ Grade 3 | ||||||
| Neutropenia | 4 | 56/165 | 64/162 | 0.86 (0.66–1.12) | 0.258 | 14%, 0.315 | |
| Febrile neutropenia | 2 | 2/75 | 7/71 | 0.22 (0.04–1.17) | 0.076 | 0%, 0.734 | |
| Anemia | 3 | 2/102 | 3/110 | 0.79 (0.18–3.49) | 0.758 | 0%, 0.592 | |
| Thrombocytopenia | 3 | 8/147 | 6/156 | 1.39 (0.51–3.78) | 0.518 | 0%, 0.865 | |
| Nausea | 4 | 7/234 | 4/232 | 1.52 (0.48–4.85) | 0.479 | 0%, 0.900 | |
| Vomiting | 6 | 9/345 | 5/343 | 1.363 (0.501–3.706) | 0.544 | 0%, 0.609 | |
| Fatigue | 4 | 10/216 | 7/226 | 1.50 (0.60–3.75) | 0.386 | 0%, 0.407 | |
| Diarrhea | 5 | 26/327 | 14/337 | 1.871 (1.002–3.494) | 0.049 | 0%, 0.929 | |
| Mucotis | 3 | 2/186 | 1/193 | 1.47 (0.30–7.31) | 0.636 | 0%, 0.525 | |
| Infection | 2 | 2/75 | 0/71 | 1.84 (0.10–33.82) | 0.681 | 0%, – | |
| Alopecia | 3 | 1/147 | 3/156 | 0.46 (0.07–3.01) | 0.417 | 0%, 0.403 | |
| Rash | 2 | 8/171 | 12/172 | 0.67 (0.28–1.60) | 0.369 | 0%, 0.985 |
N, number of included studies; RR, relative risk; CI: confidence interval.