Influence of the Use of the Diabetic Drug Metformin on the Overall Survival and Treatment-related Toxicity in Advanced Stage Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients.

There are preliminary data suggesting that patients suffering from non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, treated with metformin, have improved local tumor control. A reduction in the tumor's hypoxia may be responsible for this phenomenon. Therefore, the aim of this study is to test the hypothesis in three cohorts of patients suffering from advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer and all undergoing concurrent radiochemotherapy: 1. Patients with diabetes mellitus treated with metformin only; 2. Patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus not treated with metformin; 3. The remaining patients serving as controls. Furthermore, tumor and treatment-related parameters will be correlated with overall survival and morbidity.