ReviewOncotarget2017
Melatonin for the prevention and treatment of cancer.
Review in Oncotarget, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 180 papers, 7 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
180 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 381 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploring the impact of melatonin on cancer-related fatigue: a dose-response meta-analysis with GRADE evidence evaluation.BMC cancer · 2026Pooled it
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- Sleep During Oncological Treatment - A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Associations With Treatment Response, Time to Progression and Survival.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Pooled it
- Shift work and risk of skin cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2020Pooled it
- Efficacy of Melatonin in Alleviating Radiotherapy-Induced Fatigue, Anxiety, and Depression in Breast Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Integrative cancer therapiesPooled it
- Efficacy of a Low Dose of Melatonin as an Adjunctive Therapy in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19: A Randomized, Double-blind Clinical Trial.Archives of medical research · 2022Trial
- A Randomized, Controlled, Parallel-Group, Trial on the Long-term Effects of Melatonin on Fatigue Associated With Breast Cancer and Its Adjuvant Treatments.Integrative cancer therapiesTrial
- Resurrection biology: Melatonin as a modulator of anastasis (Review).Molecular medicine reports · 2026Review
- Chronotherapy in Oncology: Aligning Cancer Treatment with Biological Time.Journal of personalized medicine · 2026Review
- The Redox Paradox of Natural Supplements in Cancer: A Narrative Review to Guide Clinical Practice.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Repurposing melatonin for its potential roles in gastrointestinal cancers: highlighting the molecular mechanisms.Cancer cell international · 2026Review
- Melatonin and Selected Phytochemicals: A Promising Combination to Target Altered Metabolism in Cancer.Nutrients · 2026Review
- The role of circadian disruption, sleep dysregulation, lifestyle factors, and metabolic reprogramming in the pathogenesis and progression of ovarian cancer.Journal of the National Cancer Center · 2026Review
- Sleep quality and sleepiness in adults with multiple myeloma. Is melatonin a potential treatment?Physiological reports · 2026Observational
- Light pollution: environmental and health impacts at high latitudes.Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology · 2026Review
- Article
- Sleep midpoint, social jetlag, and cancer risk in the Cancer Prevention Study-3.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2026Article
- Melatonin at the Crossroads of Oxidative Stress, Immunity, and Cancer Therapy.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
120 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 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The epidemiological studies have indicated a possible oncostatic property of melatonin on different types of tumors. Besides, experimental studies have documented that melatonin could exert growth inhibition on some human tumor cells in vitro and in animal models. The underlying mechanisms include antioxidant activity, modulation of melatonin receptors MT1 and MT2, stimulation of apoptosis, regulation of pro-survival signaling and tumor metabolism, inhibition on angiogenesis, metastasis, and induction of epigenetic alteration. Melatonin could also be utilized as adjuvant of cancer therapies, through reinforcing the therapeutic effects and reducing the side effects of chemotherapies or radiation. Melatonin could be an excellent candidate for the prevention and treatment of several cancers, such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, gastric cancer and colorectal cancer. This review summarized the anticancer efficacy of melatonin, based on the results of epidemiological,experimental and clinical studies, and special attention was paid to the mechanisms of action.
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.