ArticlePharmacology research & perspectives2025
Repurposing the Antidepressant Sertraline: A Systematic Scoping Review of Its Anticancer Mechanisms.
Article in Pharmacology research & perspectives, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 2 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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Pharmacological Modulators of TCTP: Opportunities and Challenges for Drug Repurposing.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Repurposing the Antidepressant Sertraline: A Systematic Scoping Review of Its Anticancer Mechanisms.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Drug repurposing offers a cost-effective and time-efficient strategy for identifying new cancer therapies. Sertraline, a widely prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), has shown promising anticancer properties through modulation of key pathways involved in tumor survival, stress adaptation, and therapeutic resistance. This scoping review systematically evaluates the current evidence on sertraline's anticancer mechanisms, efficacy, and translational potential. A systematic search of PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and Web of Science was conducted in accordance with PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Eligible studies included in vitro, in vivo, and clinical investigations. Data on cancer types, mechanisms, assays, and outcomes were extracted and synthesized. Of 97 screened articles, 67 met inclusion criteria, comprising 56 preclinical studies, nine population-based studies, and two mixed-methods reports. Sertraline induces apoptosis via mitochondrial dysfunction, caspase activation, and Bcl-2 downregulation, disrupts autophagy and the unfolded protein response, and impairs serine/glycine metabolism through SHMT inhibition. It also suppresses oncogenic signaling via mTOR and TCTP modulation. In vivo studies confirmed tumor growth inhibition in various cancer models, including breast, lung, glioblastoma, and liver. Sertraline enhances the efficacy of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and targeted therapies by sensitizing resistant cells, modulating immune responses, and impairing metabolic recovery. Retrospective studies suggest no increased cancer risk with SSRI use and hint at protective associations in select malignancies. While current evidence is predominantly preclinical, sertraline's multi-targeted action and established safety profile support its candidacy for repurposing. Further translational research and biomarker-driven clinical trials are warranted to validate its therapeutic niche and optimize its integration into oncology.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
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.