ArticleOncotarget2014
Anti-tumor activity of the beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist propranolol in neuroblastoma.
Article in Oncotarget, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 50 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
50 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 74 citations in OpenAlex.
- Does propranolol have a role in cancer treatment? A systematic review of the epidemiological and clinical trial literature on beta-blockers.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2025Pooled it
- Use of non-selective β-blockers is associated with decreased tumor proliferative indices in early stage breast cancer.Oncotarget · 2017Pooled it
- Review
- An Exploratory Study of High-Concentration Trace Amine Effects and Adrenoceptor Expression Patterns in SH-SY5Y Cells and Neuroblastoma.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Investigating the Potential of Propranolol as an Anti-Tumor Agent in Colorectal Cancer Cell Lines.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Article
- Propranolol inhibits EMT and metastasis in breast cancer through miR-499-5p-mediated Sox6.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2024Article
- Inside the Biology of the β3-Adrenoceptor.Biomolecules · 2024Review
- Investigating Carvedilol's Repurposing for the Treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer via Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Activity Modulation in the Presence of β-Adrenergic Agonists.Current issues in molecular biology · 2023Article
- Review
- The neural addiction of cancer.Nature reviews. Cancer · 2023Review
- Trial watch: beta-blockers in cancer therapy.Oncoimmunology · 2023Article
- Advances in understanding cancer-associated neurogenesis and its implications on the neuroimmune axis in cancer.Pharmacology & therapeutics · 2022Review
- Propranolol blocks osteosarcoma cell cycle progression, inhibits angiogenesis and slows xenograft growth in combination with cisplatin-based chemotherapy.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Effect of chronic stress on tumorigenesis and development.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2022Review
- Gene expression profiles of beta-adrenergic receptors in canine vascular tumors: a preliminary study.BMC veterinary research · 2022Article
- Targeting tumor innervation: premises, promises, and challenges.Cell death discovery · 2022Review
- Effect and mechanism of propranolol on promoting osteogenic differentiation and early implant osseointegration.International journal of molecular medicine · 2021Article
- Review
- Mechanisms Supporting the Use of Beta-Blockers for the Management of Breast Cancer Bone Metastasis.Cancers · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Neuroblastoma (NB) is a pediatric tumor of the sympathetic nervous system, which is often associated with elevated catecholamines. More than half of patients with metastatic NB relapse and survival is extremely poor with current therapies. In a high-throughput screen of FDA-approved drugs we identified anti-NB activity for the nonselective β-adrenergic receptor antagonist propranolol hydrochloride. Propranolol inhibited growth of a panel of fifteen NB cell lines irrespective of MYCN status, and treatment induced apoptosis and decreased proliferation. Activity was dependent on inhibition of the β2, and not β1, adrenergic receptor, and treatment resulted in activation of p53 and p73 signaling in vitro. The majority of NB cell lines and primary tumors express β2 adrenergic receptor and higher mRNA levels correlate with improved patient survival, but expression levels did not correlate with in vitro sensitivity to propranolol. Furthermore, propranolol is synergistic with the topoisomerase I inhibitor SN-38 and propranolol inhibits growth of NB xenografts in vivo at doses similar to those used to treat infants with hemangiomas and hypertension. Taken together, our results suggest that propranolol has activity against NB and thus should be considered in combination treatments for patients with relapsed and refractory NB.
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.