• Juan Monte-Serrano, Pablo Villagrasa-Boli, Joana Cruañes-Monferrer, Patricia Arbués-Espinosa, Sara Martínez-Cisneros, and Miguel Fernando García-Gil.
• Servicio de Dermatología y Venereología, Hospital Clínico Universitario Lozano Blesa, Zaragoza, España; Health Research Group GIIS100 of Health Research Institute IIS Aragón, Zaragoza, España. Electronic address: monte.serrano.juan@gmail.com.
• Aten Primaria. 2022 Jun 1; 54 (6): 102354.

ObjetiveTo review and discuss the current evidence of the use of metformin as a therapeutic tool in frequent skin diseases.DesignOriginal article. Qualitative research. Narrative review.LocationAragon and Murcia, Spain.ParticipantsResident Physicians. Dermatology and Primary Health Care.MethodA narrative review has been carried out using the PubMed bibliographic database, being the search date the 27th of January of 2022.ResultsMetformin has proven to be effective in the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases such as acne, hidradenitis suppurativa, psoriasis and allergic contact dermatitis. It has also shown antitumor properties regarding basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. Additionally, beneficial effects of adjuvant treatment with metformin have been described in patients with basal cell carcinoma receiving photodynamic therapy. In patients with endocrinology-related dermatosis such as hirsutism, acanthosis nigricans and eruptive xanthomas, treatment with metformin has demonstrated therapeutic effectiveness. Topical treatment with metformin has also been useful in the treatment of melasma. Finally, it has been proposed as a drug with anti-aging and wound-healing promoting properties. Severe adverse effects have not been observed for any of the previously described indications, being this a well-tolerated treatment.ConclusionsMetformin is an effective and safe adjuvant in the therapeutic scheme of various inflammatory dermatoses, skin neoplasms, endocrinology-related dermatosis, melasma, skin aging and wound healing processes.Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

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