Trial reportEBioMedicine2015
A Randomised, Double Blind, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study of Oral Artesunate Therapy for Colorectal Cancer.
Trial report in EBioMedicine, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 97 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Phase II Randomised, Double Blind, Placebo Controlled Trial of Neoadjuvant Artesunate in Stage II/III Colorectal Cancer in Vietnamese Patients
Improving Treatment Outcomes in Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia Patients Using Imatinib and Artesunate Combination Therapy
Phase II Randomised, Double Blind, Placebo Controlled Trial of Neoadjuvant Artesunate in Stage II/III Colorectal Cancer
Who cites it
97 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 210 citations in OpenAlex.
- Artesunate, imatinib, and infliximab in COVID-19: A rapid review and meta-analysis of current evidence.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2022Pooled it
- Pharmacokinetics and Toxicity Assessment of Artesunate and Its Metabolite, Dihydroartemisinin, in NOD Scid Gamma Mice.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Ferroptosis: Newly Emerged Regulator for Human Disease.MedComm · 2026Review
- The Pro-Metastatic Roles of ROS.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- The Therapeutic Potential of Dihydroartemisinin in Cancer Treatment.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Dihydroartemisinin Induces Ferroptosis in Uveal Melanoma Cells Through the HO-1 and xCT/GPX4 Signaling Pathways.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Anticancer properties of Artemisia species: mechanisms and experimental evidence.Molecular biology reports · 2026Review
- Multifaceted Attack Networks of Artemisinin in Reversing Chemoresistance in Colorectal Cancer.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Ferroptosis nanomedicine for cancer therapy: strategies and challenges.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2026Review
- Innovative horizons: harnessing drug repositioning for targeted therapeutics in colorectal cancer.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2025Review
- Advances in Naturally and Synthetically Derived Bioactive Sesquiterpenes and Their Derivatives: Applications in Targeting Cancer and Neurodegenerative Diseases.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Artemisinin and Its Derivatives from Molecular Mechanisms to Clinical Applications: New Horizons Beyond Antimalarials.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Hypofractionated radiotherapy (RT) combined with dihydroartemisinin (DHA): No synergistic effect observed in a preliminary animal study.Precision radiation oncology · 2025Article
- Artesunate: A Review of Its Potential Therapeutic Effects and Mechanisms in Digestive Diseases.Pharmaceutics · 2025Review
- Modification in Structures of Active Compounds in Anticancer Mitochondria-Targeted Therapy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Exploring the Therapeutic Potential ofJournal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Sesquiterpene Lactones as Promising Anti-Glioblastoma Drug Candidates Exerting Complex Effects on Glioblastoma Cell Viability and Proneural-Mesenchymal Transition.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Research advances in natural sesquiterpene lactones: overcoming cancer drug resistance through modulation of key signaling pathways.Cancer drug resistance (Alhambra, Calif.) · 2025Review
- Neuroprotective Effect of Artemisinin in an Animal Model of Alzheimer's Disease.Current medicinal chemistry · 2025Article
- In Vivo and Clinical Studies of Natural Products Targeting the Hallmarks of Cancer.Handbook of experimental pharmacology · 2025Review
37 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundArtesunate is an antimalarial agent with broad anti-cancer activity in in vitro and animal experiments and case reports. Artesunate has not been studied in rigorous clinical trials for anticancer effects.
aimTo determine the anticancer effect and tolerability of oral artesunate in colorectal cancer (CRC).
methodsThis was a single centre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Patients planned for curative resection of biopsy confirmed single primary site CRC were randomised (n = 23) by computer-generated code supplied in opaque envelopes to receive preoperatively either 14 daily doses of oral artesunate (200 mg; n = 12) or placebo (n = 11). The primary outcome measure was the proportion of tumour cells undergoing apoptosis (significant if > 7% showed Tunel staining). Secondary immunohistochemical outcomes assessed these tumour markers: VEGF, EGFR, c-MYC, CD31, Ki67 and p53, and clinical responses.
findings20 patients (artesunate = 9, placebo = 11) completed the trial per protocol. Randomization groups were comparable clinically and for tumour characteristics. Apoptosis in > 7% of cells was seen in 67% and 55% of patients in artesunate and placebo groups, respectively. Using Bayesian analysis, the probabilities of an artesunate treatment effect reducing Ki67 and increasing CD31 expression were 0.89 and 0.79, respectively. During a median follow up of 42 months 1 patient in the artesunate and 6 patients in the placebo group developed recurrent CRC.
interpretationArtesunate has anti-proliferative properties in CRC and is generally well tolerated.
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.