ArticleCancer biology & therapy2013
Berberine enhances radiosensitivity of esophageal squamous cancer by targeting HIF-1α in vitro and in vivo.
Article in Cancer biology & therapy, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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
40 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 71 citations in OpenAlex.
- Natural medicines for radioprotection and radiosensitization: a bibliometric analysis of mechanisms and trends (2001-2025).Frontiers in oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Radiotherapy Enhancing and Radioprotective Properties of Berberine: A Systematic Review.Recent patents on anti-cancer drug discovery · 2025Pooled it
- Article
- Review
- Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Berberine in Cancer Therapy: Recent Advances.Archiv der Pharmazie · 2026Review
- The lipid-modulating effect of berberine in hyperlipidemic ApoE-/- mice.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Berberine-induced ferroptosis as a novel anti-cancer strategy: Molecular, epigenetic and translational perspectives.EXCLI journal · 2026Review
- Enhancement of radiation effects by Plantago major in MCF-7 human breast cancer: an animal study.Discover oncology · 2025Article
- Pharmacological Modulation of MutantBiomedicines · 2025Review
- Mechanisms of radiotherapy resistance and radiosensitization strategies for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.Molecular cancer · 2023Review
- Active Ingredients from Chinese Medicine for Combination Cancer Therapy.International journal of biological sciences · 2023Review
- CBX4 contributes to radioresistance by regulating autophagic activity in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.Annals of translational medicine · 2022Article
- Dietary Phytochemicals Targeting Nrf2 to Enhance the Radiosensitivity of Cancer.Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity · 2022Review
- New Advances in the Research of Resistance to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- Combined detection of peripheral blood VEGF and inflammation biomarkers to evaluate the clinical response and prognostic prediction of non-operative ESCC.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Metabolic Rewiring in Radiation Oncology Toward Improving the Therapeutic Ratio.Frontiers in oncology · 2021Review
- Current Advances inFrontiers in pharmacology · 2021Review
- Berberine improves insulin-induced diabetic retinopathy through exclusively suppressing Akt/mTOR-mediated HIF-1α/VEGF activation in retina endothelial cells.International journal of biological sciences · 2021Article
- Biological properties and clinical applications of berberine.Frontiers of medicine · 2020Review
- Herbal nutraceuticals: safe and potent therapeutics to battle tumor hypoxia.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Radiation therapy is an important treatment approach for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, how to promote radiation sensitivity in ESCC remains a challenge. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of berberine, a common used Chinese medicine, on the radiosensitivity of ESCC. ECSS cell line ECA109 and TE13 were subjected to hypoxia and/or ionizing radiation (IR), in the presence or absence of berberine treatment. Cell growth and survival, and apoptosis were evaluated. In addition, ECA109 cells were xenografted into nude mice and subjected to IR and/or berberine treatment. The expression of HIF-1α and VEGF was detected by western blot and immunohistochemical analysis. Our results showed that berberine increased radiosensitivity of ESCC cells and xenografts, and this was associated with the inhibition of HIF-1α and VEGF expression. These data suggest that berberine may be a potential radiotherapy sensitization drugs due to its significant anti-hypoxia activity.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion 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 OpenQuestion graph.