The Impact of Metformin on Recurrence and Progression in Nonmuscle Invasive Bladder Cancer

Purpose: To investigate the effect of metformin use on recurrence and progression in nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer patients (NMIBC).Material method: Patients who underwent primary transurethral bladder tumor resection between 2016 and 2020 were screened. Only patients with NMIBC were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups according to the use of metformin and the groups were compared in terms of recurrence and progression.Results: According to inclusion criteria 176 NIMBC patients were included in the study. Metformin use was detected in 37 patients. The demographic characteristics and follow-up times of the patients were similar between the user and nonuser groups. Recurrence was detected in only 8.1% of the metformin user group. On the other hand, the recurrence rate was 32.4% in the nonuser group. There was no progression in the metformin user group. But in the non-user group progression rate was 8,6%. Conclusion: In our study, we found that recurrence and progression rates were lower in metformin-using patients. Prospective randomized trials are needed to understand the effects of metformin use on bladder cancer.