Matthew Smith, MD, PhD

About Matthew Smith, MD, PhD

Matthew Smith, M.D., Ph.D. is the Director of the Genitourinary Malignancies Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and a Fellow at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute – Harvard Medical School. His clinical practice and research program focus on the management of prostate cancer.

Prospective Translational Study of Metformin in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Recent population-based studies have shown that type 2 diabetic men treated with Metformin, a medicine that lowers insulin levels in blood, have lower prostate cancer incidence and improved prostate cancer specific outcomes. These findings provoked the hypothesis that higher insulin levels promote prostate cancer growth. Dr. Smith and colleagues propose to investigate the efficacy of Metformin in a prospective clinical trial for patients with progressive prostate cancer who have failed hormonal therapy. During this clinical study the investigators will monitor changes in the metabolic profile (a catalogue of hormones and chemical byproducts indicative of cellular processes) of patients’ blood and correlate results with clinical response. This study will provide essential information on the anti-tumor effects of Metformin and may credential Metformin as a new agent for prostate cancer therapy.