Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25653233›Full record

ArticleCarcinogenesis2015

Curcumin mediates chemosensitization to 5-fluorouracil through miRNA-induced suppression of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in chemoresistant colorectal cancer.

Shusuke Toden, Yoshinaga Okugawa, Thomas Jascur, Dominik Wodarz, Natalia L Komarova, Constanze Buhrmann, Mehdi Shakibaei, C Richard Boland, Ajay Goel

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Carcinogenesis, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 135 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
135citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
9.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
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

135 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 237 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Anastasis: an unwelcome guest in cancer therapy.Apoptosis : an international journal on programmed cell death · 2026
    Review
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. 75 Years of Mathematical Oncology.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  10. Review
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Review
  19. Review
  20. Article

75 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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

9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Shusuke TodenCenter for Gastrointestinal Research, and Center for Epigenetics, Cancer Prevention and Cancer Genomics, Baylor Research Institute and Sammons Cancer Center, Baylor University Medical Center, 3500 Gaston Avenue, Suite H-250, Dallas, TX 75246, USA, Department of Ecology and Evolution and Department of Mathematics, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA and Institute of Anatomy, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.
Yoshinaga OkugawaCenter for Gastrointestinal Research, and Center for Epigenetics, Cancer Prevention and Cancer Genomics, Baylor Research Institute and Sammons Cancer Center, Baylor University Medical Center, 3500 Gaston Avenue, Suite H-250, Dallas, TX 75246, USA, Department of Ecology and Evolution and Department of Mathematics, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA and Institute of Anatomy, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.
Thomas JascurCenter for Gastrointestinal Research, and Center for Epigenetics, Cancer Prevention and Cancer Genomics, Baylor Research Institute and Sammons Cancer Center, Baylor University Medical Center, 3500 Gaston Avenue, Suite H-250, Dallas, TX 75246, USA, Department of Ecology and Evolution and Department of Mathematics, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA and Institute of Anatomy, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.
Dominik WodarzDepartment of Ecology and Evolution and Department of Mathematics, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA and.
Natalia L KomarovaDepartment of Ecology and Evolution and Department of Mathematics, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA and.
Constanze BuhrmannInstitute of Anatomy, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.
Mehdi ShakibaeiInstitute of Anatomy, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.
C Richard BolandCenter for Gastrointestinal Research, and Center for Epigenetics, Cancer Prevention and Cancer Genomics, Baylor Research Institute and Sammons Cancer Center, Baylor University Medical Center, 3500 Gaston Avenue, Suite H-250, Dallas, TX 75246, USA, Department of Ecology and Evolution and Department of Mathematics, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA and Institute of Anatomy, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.
Ajay GoelCenter for Gastrointestinal Research, and Center for Epigenetics, Cancer Prevention and Cancer Genomics, Baylor Research Institute and Sammons Cancer Center, Baylor University Medical Center, 3500 Gaston Avenue, Suite H-250, Dallas, TX 75246, USA, Department of Ecology and Evolution and Department of Mathematics, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA and Institute of Anatomy, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich, Germany ajay.goel@baylorhealth.edu.
Baylor University Medical Center · USLudwig-Maximilians-Universität München · DEUniversity of California, Irvine · US

Funding

The Biology and Diagnosis of HNPCCR01CA072851 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO · PI GOEL, AJAY · 1996 to 2019
$6.6M
METHYLATION BIOMARKER DEVELOPMENT FOR NONINVASIVE DETECTION OF COLORECTAL CANCERR01CA181572 · NCI · BECKMAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE/CITY OF HOPE · PI GOEL, AJAY · 2014 to 2018
$1.6M
NCI NIH HHS R01 CA072851NCI NIH HHS R01 CA181572NCI NIH HHS R01CA72851
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Resistance to cytotoxic chemotherapy is a major cause of mortality in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Chemoresistance has been linked primarily to a subset of cancer cells undergoing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Curcumin, a botanical with antitumorigenic properties, has been shown to enhance sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapeutic drugs, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain unclear. Effects of curcumin and 5-fluorouracil (5FU) individually, and in combination, were examined in parental and 5FU resistant (5FUR) cell lines. We performed a series of growth proliferation and apoptosis assays in 2D and 3D cell cultures. Furthermore, we identified and analyzed the expression pattern of a subset of putative EMT-suppressive microRNAs (miRNAs) and their downstream target genes regulated by curcumin. Chemosensitizing effects of curcumin were validated in a xenograft mouse model. Combined treatment with curcumin and 5FU enhanced cellular apoptosis and inhibited proliferation in both parental and 5FUR cells, whereas 5FU alone was ineffective in 5FUR cells. A group of EMT-suppressive miRNAs were upregulated by curcumin treatment in 5FUR cells. Curcumin suppressed EMT in 5FUR cells by downregulating BMI1, SUZ12 and EZH2 transcripts, key mediators of cancer stemness-related polycomb repressive complex subunits. Using a xenograft and mathematical models, we further demonstrated that curcumin sensitized 5FU to suppress tumor growth. We provide novel mechanistic evidence for curcumin-mediated sensitization to 5FU-related chemoresistance through suppression of EMT in 5FUR cells via upregulation of EMT-suppressive miRNAs. This study highlights the potential therapeutic usefulness of curcumin as an adjunct in patients with chemoresistant advanced CRC.

Indexed as

MicroRNAsAnimalsAntimetabolites, AntineoplasticAntineoplastic Agents, PhytogenicCell Line, TumorColorectal NeoplasmsCurcuminDrug Resistance, NeoplasmEpithelial-Mesenchymal TransitionFluorouracilGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHumansMaleMice, NudeXenograft Model Antitumor AssaysAntimetabolites, AntineoplasticAntineoplastic Agents, PhytogenicCurcuminFluorouracilMicroRNAsMIRN200 microRNA, human

Identifiers

PMID25653233
PMCPMC4400529
OpenAlexW1966059799

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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 OpenQuestion graph.