ReviewJournal of Cancer2019
Trimethylamine-N-oxide as One Hypothetical Link for the Relationship between Intestinal Microbiota and Cancer - Where We Are and Where Shall We Go?
Review in Journal of Cancer, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 2 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
55 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Modern Approaches to Diagnosis and Evaluation of Survival Prognosis in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Modulating effects of microbiota on synbiotic intervention outcomes for microbiota-derived trimethylamine, trimethylamine N-oxide and indoxyl sulfate in healthy young medical students: insights from a 12-week randomized clinical trial.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Trial
- Plasma trimethylamine N-oxide and related metabolites and overall survival of high-grade serous ovarian cancer: a nested case-control study.European journal of nutrition · 2026Article
- Host-microbial co-metabolites: from biogenesis to immunomodulation and implications for health and disease.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Gut metabolites: key factors in the cross-talk between the gut microbiota and tumor immunotherapy.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Microbial metabolite trimethylamine-N-oxide facilitates colorectal inflammation-cancer transformation by blocking lysosomal degradation of Wnt signaling.Gut microbes · 2025Article
- Understanding microbiota-driven oncogenesis: The role of metabolites in tumorigenesis.iScience · 2025Review
- Microbiota as a state-of-the-art approach in precision medicine for pancreatic cancer management: A comprehensive systematic review.iScience · 2025Article
- Deciphering microbial and metabolic influences in gastrointestinal diseases-unveiling their roles in gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, and inflammatory bowel disease.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Article
- Evidence for a TMAO-HULC-miRNA regulatory axis in colorectal cancer cells.International journal of molecular and cellular medicine · 2025Article
- Angiogenesis, a key point in the association of gut microbiota and its metabolites with disease.European journal of medical research · 2024Review
- Trimethylamine N-oxide promotes the proliferation and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma cell through the MAPK pathway.Discover oncology · 2024Article
- Medicinal Chemistry of Drugs withJournal of medicinal chemistry · 2024Review
- High-throughput metabolomics identifies new biomarkers for cervical cancer.Discover oncology · 2024Article
- Distinguishing benign and malignant thyroid nodules using plasma trimethylamine N-oxide, carnitine, choline and betaine.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2024Article
- Investigating the biological significance of the TCM principle "promoting urination to regulate bowel movements" through the influence of the intestinal microbiota and their metabolites on the renal-intestinal axis.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2024Review
- Meat and meat products - a scoping review for Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023.Food & nutrition research · 2024Article
- Gut dysbiosis aggravates cognitive deficits, amyloid pathology and lipid metabolism dysregulation in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.Journal of pharmaceutical analysis · 2023Article
- Association between Gut Microbiota and Digestive System Cancers: A Bidirectional Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study.Nutrients · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Previous epidemiological studies had provided evidence for a link between the microbial dysbiosis and cancer, particularly colorectal cancer (CRC), yet the molecular basis of this link remains elusive. Recently, the association between plasma levels of trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), an oxidised form of trimethylamine (TMA), and risks of various cancers was demonstrated. The discovery could potentially provide an alternative explanation for the aforementioned link, as TMA production is attributed to intestinal bacteria. Current evidence suggests that inflammation could be a potential molecular mechanism to explain the link between TMAO and cancer, although other mechanisms such as oxidative stress, DNA damage and disruption in protein folding might also play a role. This mini-review article first provides an overview of the current evidence for the association between TMAO and certain cancer types, and the potential mechanisms that could explain their association. Thereafter, the direction of further research on the connection between the intestinal microbiota, TMAO and cancer is suggested.
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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.