ReviewThe AAPS journal2014
Molecular targets and mechanisms of cancer prevention and treatment by withaferin a, a naturally occurring steroidal lactone.
Review in The AAPS journal, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 62 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
62 citing papers in PubMed, 127 citations in OpenAlex.
- Incorporation of Organosilicon Motifs in Natural and Synthetic Small Molecules for Anticancer Therapeutics: Current Perspectives and Future Opportunities in Drug Design.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- The interplay of Ashwagandha with hormonal dynamics and gut microbiota in women with breast cancer: a tri-axial perspective.Journal of natural medicines · 2026Review
- Exploring the therapeutic potential of withaferin A by modulating key oncosignaling pathways.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Review
- Ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera): a comprehensive narrative review of its role in enhancing physical performance and health.Nutrition & metabolism · 2026Review
- Targeting Cytoskeleton and Cell Motility: Past and Novel Strategies for Cancer Therapy.Oncology research · 2026Review
- Overview of Ayurveda and Ashwagandha: Bioactive Phytochemicals and Potential Applications to Gliomas.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Pharmacologically Targeting Ferroptosis and Cuproptosis in Neuroblastoma.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Review
- The Synergistic and Anticancer Potential of Withania Somnifera (Ashwagandha) Ethanol Extract as an Adjuvant with Doxorubicin in MCF7 Breast Cancer Cell Line.Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP · 2025Article
- Article
- Therapeutic antibodies in oncology: an immunopharmacological overview.Cancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII · 2024Review
- Synergistic Inhibition of Pancreatic Cancer Cell Growth and Migration by Gemcitabine and Withaferin A.Biomolecules · 2024Article
- Phyto-therapeutics as anti-cancer agents in breast cancer: Pathway targeting and mechanistic elucidation.Saudi journal of biological sciences · 2024Review
- Withaferin A and Celastrol Overwhelm Proteostasis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Withaferin A inhibits breast cancer-induced osteoclast differentiation.Molecular carcinogenesis · 2023Article
- Review
- Evaluating anticancer properties of Withaferin A-a potent phytochemical.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Review
- Perspectives on natural compounds in chemoprevention and treatment of cancer: an update with new promising compounds.European journal of cancer (Oxford, England : 1990) · 2021Review
- Withaferin A-A Promising Phytochemical Compound with Multiple Results in Dermatological Diseases.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- The Role of Forkhead Box Q1 Transcription Factor in Anticancer Effects of Withaferin A in Breast Cancer.Cancer prevention research (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2021Article
- Article
2 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The plants used in Ayurvedic medicine, which has been practiced in India for thousands of years for the treatment of a variety of disorders, are rich in chemicals potentially useful for prevention and treatment of cancer. Withania somnifera (commonly known as Ashwagandha in Ayurvedic medicine) is one such medicinal plant whose anticancer value was realized over four decades ago after isolation of a crystalline steroidal compound (withaferin A) from the leaves of this shrub. The root and leaf extracts of W. somnifera are shown to confer protection against chemically-induced cancers in experimental rodents, and retard tumor xenograft growth in athymic mice. Anticancer effect of W. somnifera is generally attributable to steroidal lactones collectively referred to as withanolides. Withaferin A (WA) appears most active against cancer among structurally divergent withanolides isolated from the root or leaf of W. somnifera. Cancer-protective role for WA has now been established using chemically-induced and oncogene-driven rodent cancer models. This review summarizes the key in vivo preclinical studies demonstrating anticancer effects of WA. Molecular targets and mechanisms likely contributing to the anticancer effects of WA are also discussed. Finally, challenges in clinical development of WA for the prevention and treatment of cancer are highlighted.
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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 OpenQuestion graph.