title: Metformin and cancer stem cells: old drug, new targets.
abstract: In this issue of the journal, Bao and colleagues report (beginning on page 355) that the antidiabetic drug metformin targets pancreatic cancer stem cells through, at least partially, the modulation of miRNA expression and subsequent regulation of stem cell renewal and signaling factors. In this Perspective, we briefly discuss the cancer stem cell hypothesis, its clinical relevance, and how targeting the mTOR pathway may yield an avenue for disrupting the cancer stem cell compartment and thus yield long-term therapeutic benefit in multiple cancers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Filip
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bednar
authors.forename: Diane M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Simeone
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008687:Metformin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D035683:MicroRNAs; D008687:Metformin