The Metformin in Li Fraumeni Syndrome (MILI) trial will evaluate whether the existing type 2 diabetes drug metformin can prevent or delay the emergence of cancer in people with Li Fraumeni Syndrome (LFS). People with LFS have a 70-90% lifetime risk of developing a wide range of cancers.
Co-funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Medical Research Council and Cancer Research UK, this trial will recruit 200 participants and have an embedded research project investigating the mechanism of how metformin may prevent or delay cancer. This will help researchers understand more about how cancer may be prevented in the general population.
“In the old style of doing prevention studies, you would need tens of thousands of patients, and the population with Li Fraumeni Syndrome is too small,” says Professor Sarah Blagden (Department of Oncology and Director of the Oncology Clinical Trials Office), who is leading the research. “We’re turning the whole idea of these trials on its head by focusing in on very high-risk patients who can give us a better insight into the biology of cancer.”
Read more about the MILI trial and the LFS community it serves in this article by Cancer Research UK (also featured on the BBC News website).