Science AI Journal
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Research topic

Open research questions in Metabolism, Diabetes, and Cancer

109 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 322 Metabolism, Diabetes, and Cancer papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • Further studies are needed to investigate the relationship between T2DM and cancer. Research should focus on the clinical characteristics and survival outcomes of patients with co-occurring T2DM and cancer. Studies should explore the potential confounding factors related to COVID-19 pandemic-associated disruptions.

    Type 2 diabetes and cancer: A retrospective longitudinal comparative cohort study of disease sequence and comorbidity profiles · 2026 · DOI

  • The genetic background and biological mechanisms underlying the rapid loss of endogenous insulin secretion and reversible subcutaneous insulin resistance are not fully understood. There is a lack of understanding of the clinical evolution of patients with type 2 diabetes who develop this condition.

    Case Report: Rapid loss of endogenous insulin secretion and reversible subcutaneous insulin resistance following exogenous insulin exposure in a patient initially diagnosed with type 2 diabetes · 2026 · DOI

  • residual confounding by baseline disease severity and treatment indication, - lack of laboratory or anthropometric measures of baseline disease severity, - no direct dissemination to individual study participants due to anonymized nature of dataset

    Early insulin combined with metformin therapy and long-term risks of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and cancer in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes: a real-world cohort study in China · 2026 · DOI

  • examination of cardiovascular effects of metformin and insulin therapies, - investigation of early insulin-based therapy for treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus

    Early insulin combined with metformin therapy and long-term risks of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and cancer in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes: a real-world cohort study in China · 2026 · DOI

  • the study did not investigate the long-term effects of semaglutide on BMSCs, - the study did not examine the effects of semaglutide on other cell types, - the study used a limited number of concentrations of semaglutide

    Semaglutide promotes the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of bone-derived mesenchymal stem cells through activation of the Wnt/LRP5/β-catenin signaling pathway · 2025 · DOI

  • The underlying mechanism of Semaglutide's effect on osteogenic differentiation is unclear. The diagnostic criterion for osteoporosis in diabetic patients may need to be revised. The potential therapeutic application of Semaglutide in osteoporosis treatment is not fully understood.

    Semaglutide promotes the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of bone-derived mesenchymal stem cells through activation of the Wnt/LRP5/β-catenin signaling pathway · 2025 · DOI

  • trial findings for non-cancer conditions remain controversial and insufficient, - most current clinical trials for PCOS and gynecological malignancies are ongoing phase II–III trials, - studies in women with endometriosis treated with metformin are scarce

    Metformin in gynecological disorders: pathogenic insights and therapeutic implications · 2025 · DOI

  • There is a lack of effective treatments for gynecological disorders. Current treatments often have serious side effects. There is a need for affordable and low-toxicity treatments for these disorders.

    Metformin in gynecological disorders: pathogenic insights and therapeutic implications · 2025 · DOI

  • Accurately predicting individual patient prognosis and identifying those likely to benefit from specific treatments remains a challenge. The discovery of novel and reliable prognostic biomarkers, as well as tools for monitoring treatment response, is of critical importance in improving outcomes for breast cancer patients.

    Elucidating the Prognostic and Therapeutic Implications of Insulin Resistance Genes in Breast Cancer: A Machine Learning-Powered Analysis · 2025 · DOI

  • The prognostic relevance of insulin resistance in breast cancer has not been fully elucidated. The critical molecular markers linking insulin resistance to breast cancer outcomes remain insufficiently characterized.

    Elucidating the Prognostic and Therapeutic Implications of Insulin Resistance Genes in Breast Cancer: A Machine Learning-Powered Analysis · 2025 · DOI

  • Further research to fully understand the mechanism of action of metformin in cancer therapy, - Exploration of metformin's potential for cancer prevention and treatment, - Investigation of the impact of metformin on aging-related diseases

    Metformin: A Dual-Role Player in Cancer Treatment and Prevention · 2024 · DOI

  • The precise mechanism of action of metformin in cancer therapy is not fully understood. Conflicting outcomes in clinical trials and considerations regarding dosing and resistance development need to be addressed.

    Metformin: A Dual-Role Player in Cancer Treatment and Prevention · 2024 · DOI

  • Future research should focus on maintaining normal glucose uptake and reducing peripheral glucose levels, - Dietary interventions to lower glucose levels could enhance the efficacy of glucose uptake-reducing therapies, - Preclinical studies demonstrated that lowering environmental glucose enhances the effects of traditional chemotherapy

    Decoding the Role of Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 and Its Isoforms in Breast Cancer · 2024 · DOI

  • Metformin improves metabolic health and remodels the intestinal microbiota, yet how these microbial changes contribute to therapeutic benefits remains incompletely understood.

    The chemorepellent effect of metformin limits bacterial penetration into mammalian mucus by altering bacterial motility · 2026 · DOI

  • Previous studies have demonstrated that artemether (ATM) has anti-diabetes and anti-inflammation activities, but its mechanism has not been fully elucidated.

    Exploring the glucose-lowering and anti-inflammatory immune mechanism of artemether by AMPK/mTOR pathway and microbiome based on multi-omics · 2025 · DOI

  • However, the precise molecular mechanisms and physiological roles of this translocation remain elusive, hindering our understanding of how glucose metabolism supports brain function.

    Neuronal activity-induced GLUT3 plasma translocation supports energy demands for memory acquisition · 2025 · DOI

  • ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS: Insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation in skeletal muscle is crucial for whole-body glucose homeostasis, but direct methods to measure endogenous GLUT4 translocation in adult muscle are lacking.

    Analysis of Multiple Insulin Actions in Single Muscle Fibers From Insulin-Resistant Mice Reveals Selective Defect in Endogenous GLUT4 Translocation · 2025 · DOI

  • While regulation by activation segment phosphorylation of Ser/Thr residues is well understood, relatively little is known about how oxidation of cysteine residues modulate catalysis.

    Redox regulation and dynamic control of brain-selective kinases BRSK1/2 in the AMPK family through cysteine-based mechanisms · 2025 · DOI

  • However, the role of dapagliflozin in sunitinib-induced cardiotoxicity remains unclear.

    Dapagliflozin alleviates sunitinib-induced cardiotoxicity through AMPKα-PPARα axis and enhances the sensitivity of renal cell carcinoma to sunitinib · 2025 · DOI

  • However, the key effector(s) of AMPK and the regulatory mechanisms remain unclear.

    AMPK phosphorylation of FNIP1 (S220) controls mitochondrial function and muscle fuel utilization during exercise · 2024 · DOI

  • However, the full network of intracellular signaling pathways that control exercise-induced glucose uptake and that overlap with the insulin-stimulated pathway upstream of the RabGAPs is not fully understood.

    AMPK and Beyond: The Signaling Network Controlling RabGAPs and Contraction-Mediated Glucose Uptake in Skeletal Muscle · 2024 · DOI

  • Despite extensive research, the precise molecular pathways and intracellular mechanisms activated by IGF-1, in cancer, remain poorly understood.

    Decoding the Role of Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 and Its Isoforms in Breast Cancer · 2024 · DOI

  • Despite the observed beneficial effects of metformin on IM, its molecular mechanism remains not fully elucidated.

    Revealing the role of metformin in gastric intestinal metaplasia treatment · 2024 · DOI

  • Literature has also shown its effect on enhanced insulin secretion, whereas its mechanism on glucose stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in pancreatic β cells remains unexplored.

    Exploring the potential of pheophorbide A, a chlorophyll-derived compound in modulating GLUT for maintaining glucose homeostasis · 2024 · DOI

  • The association between metabolic health and obesity categories and cancer risk remains unclear.

    Metabolic obesity phenotypes and the risk of cancer: a prospective study of the Kailuan cohort · 2024 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Metabolism, Diabetes, and Cancer

Most recent work

Find a gap in your own Metabolism, Diabetes, and Cancer sub-topic

This page shows what the Metabolism, Diabetes, and Cancer literature already flags as unresolved. To narrow it to your specific question, search the Research Gap Finder: the search is free with a free account and lists the papers closest to your topic first. Unlocking that topic (50 credits, charged once) fills the comparison table from our 4.5M-paper local library and writes the gaps from its rows.

Open the Research Gap Finder →

Related topics in Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Gut microbiota and health
1,988 open questions
Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
739 open questions
Extracellular vesicles in disease
551 open questions
Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria
540 open questions
Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
535 open questions
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
499 open questions
RNA modifications and cancer
423 open questions
Mitochondrial Function and Pathology
419 open questions
109 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 322 Metabolism, Diabetes, and Cancer papers in our 4.5M-paper local library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

Tools for your next paper

Gaps & Literature SearchFind open questions in any field — 120,000+ open gaps mined from our own library.Pre-CheckIs your paper ready? A Tier 1–5 acceptance probability in seconds.Journal FinderA ranked shortlist of target journals from a 17,500-venue index.Duplicate Publication CheckerCheck prior-publication & salami-slicing risk across 8 sources.Citation GeneratorFreeA DOI or title → APA, MLA, Vancouver, Chicago, BibTeX, RIS. No signup.Graphical Abstract MakerFreeTurn your findings into a colorblind-safe graphical abstract.

Compare the category — Honest roundups of the AI research tools, ours listed alongside the alternatives.

Command palette

Jump anywhere, run any action.