The effects of phenformin on cancer cell growth have been reported to be mainly through inhibition of the complex I of the mitochondrial respiratory chain to activate AMPK and block the mTOR pathway, which impacts protein synthesis, DNA damage, cell cycle arrest, blocking proliferation, and cell survival.41,42 Here, we found that phenformin not only inhibits OSCC cell proliferation, but also promotes apoptosis and autophagy to suppress OSCC cell growth in vivo and in vitro. Here, MTOR is linked to cancer.