ArticleBalkan medical journal2018
Evaluation of the Cytotoxic and Autophagic Effects of Atorvastatin on MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells
Article in Balkan medical journal, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Targeting Ferroptosis as the Achilles' Heel of Breast Cancer: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Opportunities from a Comprehensive Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Atorvastatin as a pleiotropic anticancer agent: mechanisms, evidence, and therapeutic repurposing potential.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- In Vitro Investigation of the Antiproliferative and Antimetastatic Effects of Atorvastatin: A Focus on Cervical and Head and Neck Cancers.Pharmaceutics · 2025Article
- Genetic association of lipids and lipid-lowering drug target genes with breast cancer.Discover oncology · 2025Article
- The role of statins in the regulation of breast and colorectal cancer and future directions.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Repositioning of HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors as Adjuvants in the Modulation of Efflux Pump-Mediated Bacterial and Tumor Resistance.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Atorvastatin and Nitrofurantoin Repurposed in the Context of Breast Cancer and Neuroblastoma Cells.Biomedicines · 2023Article
- Enhancement of the anticancer effect of atorvastatin-loaded nanoemulsions by improving oral absorption via multivalent intestinal transporter-targeting lipids.Drug delivery · 2022Article
- Antidiabetics, Anthelmintics, Statins, and Beta-Blockers as Co-Adjuvant Drugs in Cancer Therapy.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Review
- Novel Effects of Statins on Cancer via Autophagy.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Atorvastatin Inhibits Viability and Migration of MCF7 Breast Cancer Cells.Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP · 2022Article
- Fluvastatin sensitizes pancreatic cancer cells toward radiation therapy and suppresses radiation- and/or TGF-β-induced tumor-associated fibrosis.Laboratory investigation; a journal of technical methods and pathology · 2022Article
- Statins: a repurposed drug to fight cancer.Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR · 2021Review
- Atorvastatin Sensitizes Breast and Lung Cancer Cells to Ionizing Radiation.Iranian journal of pharmaceutical research : IJPR · 2020Article
- HDL and LDL: Potential New Players in Breast Cancer Development.Journal of clinical medicine · 2019Review
- Atorvastatin Inhibits Breast Cancer Cells by Downregulating PTEN/AKT Pathway via Promoting Ras Homolog Family Member B (RhoB).BioMed research international · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Recently, cytotoxic effects of statins on breast cancer cells have been reported. However, the mechanism of anti-proliferative effects is currently unknown. Autophagy is non-apoptotic programmed cell death, which is characterized by degradation of cytoplasmic components and as having a role in cancer pathogenesis. Aims: To investigate the anti-proliferative effects of atorvastatin on MCF-7 human breast adenocarcinoma cells with respect to both autophagy and apoptosis. Study Design: Cell culture study. Methods: Cell viability was analyzed using WST-1 cell proliferation assay. Apoptosis was determined by the TUNEL method, whereas autophagy was assessed by Beclin-1 and LC3B immunofluorescence staining. Ultrastructural analysis of cells was performed by electron microscopy. Results: Atorvastatin reduced MCF-7 cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner inducing TUNEL-, Beclin-1-, and LC3B-positive cells. Moreover, ultrastructural analysis showed apoptotic, autophagic, and necrotic morphological changes in treatment groups. A statistically significant increase in the apoptotic index was detected with higher concentrations of atorvastatin at 24 h and 48 h (p<0.05). Conclusion: The anti-proliferative effects of atorvastatin on breast cancer cells is mediated by the induction of both apoptosis and autophagy which shows statins as a potential treatment option for breast cancer.
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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.