Grant: Project Grant - Priority Announcement: Pediatric Cancer

Around 5400 children in North America are diagnosed with brain tumors every year, making them the most common solid tumors in children. The good news is that advances in cancer care have dramatically increased the number of survivors of childhood brain tumors (SCBT). On the other hand, survivors are developing chronic health conditions, including obesity. Overweight and obesity are some of the most common challenges, occurring in up to 42% of survivors. This issue is critical, as obesity during childhood increases the risk of carrying this excess weight into adulthood and contributes to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes risk. These conditions are emerging as significant causes of short lifespans and low quality of life in survivors. While lifestyle intervention programs have short-term success in treating obesity in children, survivors have significant medical, hormonal, mobility, coordination, pain, and mental health concerns that make engagement in these programs challenging to initiate and sustain. Therefore, using medications that can mimic lifestyle intervention effects offers significant health benefits to survivors who cannot always participate in lifestyle interventions. Metformin is a pill used in children with type 2 diabetes but recently was also found to reduce weight. However, there have been no studies to test its use in SCBT to treat obesity. Before launching a large, multicenter, and definitive randomized controlled trial using metformin to treat obesity in SCBT, we need to test the feasibility of the study procedures in 40 metformin-treated survivors and compare them to another 40 survivors who take a fake pill (placebo). By assessing recruitment rates, compliance with study procedures, and preliminary changes in body weight, we will be able to determine if the full trial is feasible. This study will introduce metformin as a new treatment for obesity to improve health outcomes in SCBT and help them live healthy and long lives.