Microgravity and cancer cells: from molecular mechanisms to therapeutic strategies.

Jian Yuan, Sisi Zhang, Yi Xu, Cunman He, Zuchao Cai, Zhiyong Wang, Qianming Chen

Abstract readReview

In one paragraph

Review in Cell death discovery, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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.

Jian Yuan *Stomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Devices of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6597-416X

Sisi Zhang *Stomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Devices of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.

Yi XuStomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Devices of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.

Cunman HeCollege of Life Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.

Zuchao CaiStomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Devices of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.

Zhiyong WangStomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Devices of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.

Qianming ChenStomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Devices of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. qmchen@zju.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5371-4432

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

All living organisms on Earth have evolved mechanisms to counteract the effects of gravity. In space, however, shear forces, buoyancy-driven convection, and hydrostatic pressure are either eliminated or significantly reduced. Microgravity disrupts the balance between intracellular structures and external forces, leading to changes at both the cellular and subcellular levels. The absence of gravitational forces in microgravity significantly impacts cellular behavior, including changes in tumor cell morphology, cytoskeletal structure, and gene expression. Research has demonstrated that microgravity induces the three-dimensional aggregation of cancer cells into multicellular spheroids, which more closely resemble in vivo tumors. These spheroids exhibit altered behaviors, including increased apoptosis, autophagy, and reduced proliferation and migration. Such changes suggest that microgravity may offer a promising novel therapeutic approach for cancer treatment. However, the precise underlying mechanisms remain largely unexplored. This review examines current microgravity research platforms and explores how microgravity affects tumor cell molecular and biological behaviors, offering valuable insights into the potential for innovative cancer therapies.

Identifiers

PMID41513600

DOI10.1038/s41420-025-02836-8

PMCPMC12789100

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata

LicenceCC BY

Read underepoch 390

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.