Metformin to reduce lung cancer risk in overweight or obese former smokers
Official title: Metformin for chemoprevention of lung cancer in obese subjects at high risk
Funded at Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corp · NIH-11141784 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will see whether the common diabetes pill metformin can help prevent lung cancer in overweight or obese people who used to smoke.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corp NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Buffalo, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2021 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $583,338 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA255515-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11141784 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are former smokers who are overweight or obese and are considered at high risk for lung cancer.
✕Less likely to help
People who are normal weight, current smokers, or not at elevated risk for lung cancer are less likely to benefit from this approach.
What this research studies
You would be asked to join if you are an overweight or obese former smoker at higher risk for lung cancer, and you may receive metformin while researchers monitor your lung and blood samples. The team will look for immune changes in the lung environment, especially shifts in regulatory T cells, using blood tests and procedures such as bronchoalveolar lavage or biopsies when needed. Prior work in people and mice suggests obesity creates immune changes that metformin can reverse, so this work tests whether those changes occur in at-risk humans. The project aims to link those immune signals to a lower chance of future lung cancer development.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could offer a low-cost way to lower lung cancer risk for many overweight or obese former smokers.
How similar studies have gone: Some earlier studies suggest metformin may lower cancer risk but results have been mixed, and the obesity-specific immune mechanism is a relatively new finding being tested in people.
Where this research is happening
-
Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corp
Buffalo, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Yendamuri, Saikrishna — Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corp
- Study coordinator: Yendamuri, Saikrishna
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Using metformin to prevent lung cancer in obese ex-smokers
This study is looking at whether metformin, a medication often used for diabetes, can help prevent lung cancer in people who are overweight or obese and have smoked in the past, by seeing how it might improve the immune system in their lungs.
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Blood-based markers to identify lung cancer risk in never-smokers
A researchers team at NYU School of Medicine is testing blood tests that might flag higher lung cancer risk in people who have never smoked, helping decide who might need screening.
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Integrative Analysis of Lung Cancer Risk and Its Causes
A large, multi-part study at the University of New Mexico is exploring why lung cancer happens and how to better prevent and detect it.
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Integrative Analysis of Lung Cancer Risk and Causes
A large NIH project is exploring how tobacco use, behavior, biology, and screening practices influence lung cancer risk and outcomes to help prevent and detect it earlier.
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Digital health strategies to expand lung cancer screening in safety-net clinics
A funded project aims to help low-resource clinics increase the use of lung cancer screening for patients who smoke or are at risk.
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Proteomics-guided matching of lung cancer tumors to preclinical models
This grant aims to improve how we match a patient’s lung cancer tumor to the right preclinical models using protein data.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.