ArticlePloS one2014
The Mu opioid receptor promotes opioid and growth factor-induced proliferation, migration and Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) in human lung cancer.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 102 papers, 5 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
102 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 204 citations in OpenAlex.
- Opioid use and the risk of cancer incidence and mortality: a systematic review.Cancer metastasis reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Perioperative opioids and survival outcomes in resectable head and neck cancer: A systematic review.Cancer medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Regional anesthesia did not improve postoperative long-term survival of tumor patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.World journal of surgical oncology · 2023Pooled it
- Effect of combined epidural-general anesthesia on long-term survival of patients with colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis of cohort studies.International journal of colorectal disease · 2022Pooled it
- Opium Usage and Risk of Head and Neck Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP · 2021Pooled it
- Impact of opioid-free general anesthesia with locoregional blocks during breast cancer surgery on systemic inflammatory response: results from a randomized controlled trial.Regional anesthesia and pain medicine · 2026Trial
- Effects of Different Doses of Butorphanol on Perioperative Analgesia, Recovery, and Immune Function in Patients Undergoing Cytoreductive Surgery for Ovarian Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Drug design, development and therapy · 2025Trial
- Trial
- μ-opioid receptor agonist facilitates circulating tumor cell formation in bladder cancer via the MOR/AKT/Slug pathway: a comprehensive study including randomized controlled trial.Cancer communications (London, England) · 2023Trial
- Methylnaltrexone Treatment for Opioid-Induced Constipation in Patients with and without Cancer: Effect of Initial Dose.Journal of pain research · 2023Trial
- Perioperative pectoral nerve block type II and postoperative recurrence in breast cancer: a randomized controlled trial.BMC surgery · 2022Trial
- A Randomized Controlled Trial of Postoperative Thoracic Epidural Analgesia Versus Intravenous Patient-controlled Analgesia After Major Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery.Annals of surgery · 2017Trial
- Phase II trial of subcutaneous methylnaltrexone in the treatment of severe opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in cancer patients: an exploratory study.International journal of clinical oncology · 2017Trial
- Treatment with methylnaltrexone is associated with increased survival in patients with advanced cancer.Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology · 2016Trial
- A targetable opioid/cancer associated fibroblast axis drives extracellular matrix remodeling and tumor aggressiveness in pancreatic cancer.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Exploring the Effects of Opioid-Related Drugs on the Clinical Outcome of Prostate Cancer Patients Via Integrated Bioinformatics Analysis.Molecular biotechnology · 2026Article
- Modulators of epithelial-mesenchymal transitions in prostate cancer: potential for novel therapeutics development.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Reprogramming neural-tumor crosstalk: emerging therapeutic dimensions and targeting strategies.Military Medical Research · 2025Review
- Concomitant Use of Analgesics and EGFR TKIs in Lung Cancer Patients: Outcomes and Perspectives From a Finnish Retrospective Register-Based Study.Cancer medicine · 2025Article
- Evolution of pain management in lung cancer surgery: from opioid-based to personalized analgesia.Anesthesia and pain medicine · 2025Review
42 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
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Recent epidemiologic studies implying differences in cancer recurrence based on anesthetic regimens raise the possibility that the mu opioid receptor (MOR) can influence cancer progression. Based on our previous observations that overexpression of MOR in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells increased tumor growth and metastasis, this study examined whether MOR regulates growth factor receptor signaling and epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) in human NSCLC cells. We utilized specific siRNA, shRNA, chemical inhibitors and overexpression vectors in human H358 NSCLC cells that were either untreated or treated with various concentrations of DAMGO, morphine, fentanyl, EGF or IGF. Cell function assays, immunoblot and immunoprecipitation assays were then performed. Our results indicate MOR regulates opioid and growth factor-induced EGF receptor signaling (Src, Gab-1, PI3K, Akt and STAT3 activation) which is crucial for consequent human NSCLC cell proliferation and migration. In addition, human NSCLC cells treated with opioids, growth factors or MOR overexpression exhibited an increase in snail, slug and vimentin and decrease ZO-1 and claudin-1 protein levels, results consistent with an EMT phenotype. Further, these effects were reversed with silencing (shRNA) or chemical inhibition of MOR, Src, Gab-1, PI3K, Akt and STAT3 (p<0.05). Our data suggest a possible direct effect of MOR on opioid and growth factor-signaling and consequent proliferation, migration and EMT transition during lung cancer progression. Such an effect provides a plausible explanation for the epidemiologic findings.
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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.