Evidence mapPaperPMID 36759799Full record

ReviewCell communication and signaling : CCS2023

Melatonin and 5-fluorouracil combination chemotherapy: opportunities and efficacy in cancer therapy.

Alireza Mafi, Malihe Rezaee, Neda Hedayati, Sara Diana Hogan, Russel J Reiter, Mohammad-Hossein Aarabi, Zatollah Asemi

Abstract readVideo-Audio MediaReview
In one paragraph

Review in Cell communication and signaling : CCS, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
38citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

38 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. rRGD3International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Alireza Mafi *Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Islamic Republic of Iran.
Malihe Rezaee *School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.
Neda HedayatiSchool of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.
Sara Diana HoganDepartment of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Russel J ReiterDepartment of Cell Systems and Anatomy, UT Health. Long School of Medicine, San Antonio, TX, USA. reiter@uthscsa.edu.
Mohammad-Hossein AarabiDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Islamic Republic of Iran. mh.aarabi@pharm.mui.ac.ir.ORCID 0000-0001-6514-4492
Zatollah AsemiResearch Center for Biochemistry and Nutrition in Metabolic Diseases, Institute for Basic Sciences, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Islamic Republic of Iran. asemi_r@yahoo.com.ORCID 0000-0001-5265-4792

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Combined chemotherapy is a treatment method based on the simultaneous use of two or more therapeutic agents; it is frequently necessary to produce a more effective treatment for cancer patients. Such combined treatments often improve the outcomes over that of the monotherapy approach, as the drugs synergistically target critical cell signaling pathways or work independently at different oncostatic sites. A better prognosis has been reported in patients treated with combination therapy than in patients treated with single drug chemotherapy. In recent decades, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) has become one of the most widely used chemotherapy agents in cancer treatment. This medication, which is soluble in water, is used as the first line of anti-neoplastic agent in the treatment of several cancer types including breast, head and neck, stomach and colon cancer. Within the last three decades, many studies have investigated melatonin as an anti-cancer agent; this molecule exhibits various functions in controlling the behavior of cancer cells, such as inhibiting cell growth, inducing apoptosis, and inhibiting invasion. The aim of this review is to comprehensively evaluate the role of melatonin as a complementary agent with 5-FU-based chemotherapy for cancers. Additionally, we identify the potential common signaling pathways by which melatonin and 5-FU interact to enhance the efficacy of the combined therapy. Video abstract.

Indexed as

Antineoplastic AgentsColonic NeoplasmsMelatoninApoptosisCell Line, TumorFluorouracilHumansAntineoplastic AgentsFluorouracilMelatonin5-fluorouracilChemotherapyCombination therapyMelatonin

Identifiers

PMID36759799
PMCPMC9912526

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.