ArticleCancers2021
Pirfenidone Reduces Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Spheroid Formation in Breast Carcinoma through Targeting Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts (CAFs).
Article in Cancers, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Review
- Photobiomodulation mitigates the inhibitory effects of pirfenidone on cancer-associated fibroblasts and their pro-tumorigenic properties: a cause for concern.Lasers in medical science · 2026Article
- Synergistic combination of pirfenidone and paclitaxel suppresses migration and stemness in triple-negative breast cancer: implications of EMT and pluripotency pathways.BMC pharmacology & toxicology · 2026Article
- The Impact of Yes-Associated Protein 1 (YAP1) Expression Patterns in Locally Advanced Breast Cancer: Associations with Pathological Response and Tumor Features.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Article
- Pirfenidone promotes cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of triple‑negative breast cancer cells by suppressing Hedgehog/GLI1 signaling.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2025Article
- Nano-drug delivery strategies affecting cancer-associated fibroblasts to reduce tumor metastasis.Acta pharmaceutica Sinica. B · 2025Review
- Despicable role of epithelial-mesenchymal transition in breast cancer metastasis: ExhibitingCancer pathogenesis and therapy · 2025Review
- Cancer-associated fibroblasts, tumor and radiotherapy: interactions in the tumor micro-environment.Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR · 2024Review
- Review
- Pirfenidone inhibits TGF-β1-induced metabolic reprogramming during epithelial-mesenchymal transition in non-small cell lung cancer.Journal of cellular and molecular medicine · 2024Article
- miRNAs Delivery for Cancer-associated Fibroblasts' Activation and Drug Resistance in Cancer Microenvironment.Endocrine, metabolic & immune disorders drug targets · 2024Review
- Decoding tumor-fibrosis interplay: mechanisms, impact on progression, and innovative therapeutic strategies.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Review
- The role of matrix stiffness in breast cancer progression: a review.Frontiers in oncology · 2023Review
- Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts in a 3D Engineered Tissue Model Induce Tumor-like Matrix Stiffening and EMT Transition.Cancers · 2022Article
- Curcuminoids as Modulators of EMT in Invasive Cancers: A Review of Molecular Targets With the Contribution of Malignant Mesothelioma Studies.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Review
- Intrinsic Differences in Spatiotemporal Organization and Stromal Cell Interactions Between Isogenic Lung Cancer Cells of Epithelial and Mesenchymal Phenotypes Revealed by High-Dimensional Single-Cell Analysis of Heterotypic 3D Spheroid Models.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the effects of pirfenidone (PFD) on promoting epithelial-mesenchymal-transition (EMT) and stemness features in breast carcinoma cells through targeting cancer-associated-fibroblasts (CAFs). Using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, we analyzed the association between stromal index, EMT, and stemness-related genes across 1084 breast cancer patients, identifying positive correlation between YAP1, EMT, and stemness genes in samples with a high-stromal index. We monitored carcinoma cell invasion and spheroid formation co-cultured with CAFs in a 3D microfluidic device, followed by exposing carcinoma cells, spheroids, and CAFs with PFD. We depicted a positive association between the high-stromal index and the expression of EMT and stemness genes. High YAP1 expression in samples correlated with more advanced EMT status and stromal index. Additionally, we found that CAFs promoted spheroid formation and induced the expression of YAP1, VIM, and CD44 in spheroids. Treatment with PFD reduced carcinoma cell migration and decreased the expression of these genes at the protein level. The cytokine profiling showed significant depletion of various EMT- and stemness-regulated cytokines, particularly IL8, CCL17, and TNF-beta. These data highlight the potential application of PFD on inhibiting EMT and stemness in carcinoma cells through the targeting of critical cytokines.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.