Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32560384›Full record

ReviewBiomolecules2020

Against Repurposing Methadone for Glioblastoma Therapy.

Tatjana Vatter, Lukas Klumpp, Katrin Ganser, Nicolai Stransky, Daniel Zips, Franziska Eckert, Stephan M Huber

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Biomolecules, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 22% 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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Investigation of the impact of D, L-methadone on ALA-PDT in multiple glioblastoma cell lines.Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology · 2026
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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

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Tatjana VatterDepartment of Radiation Oncology, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany.
Lukas KlumppDepartment of Radiation Oncology, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany.
Katrin GanserDepartment of Radiation Oncology, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany.
Nicolai StranskyDepartment of Radiation Oncology, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany.
Daniel ZipsDepartment of Radiation Oncology, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany.
Franziska EckertDepartment of Radiation Oncology, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-4742-3962
Stephan M HuberDepartment of Radiation Oncology, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany.
University of Tübingen · DEGerman Cancer Research Center · DE

Funding

Deutsche Krebshilfe 70112872/70113144
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Methadone, which is used as maintenance medication for outpatient treatment of opioid dependence or as an analgesic drug, has been suggested by preclinical in vitro and mouse studies to induce cell death and sensitivity to chemo- or radiotherapy in leukemia, glioblastoma, and carcinoma cells. These data together with episodical public reports on long-term surviving cancer patients who use methadone led to a hype of methadone as an anti-cancer drug in social and public media. However, clinical evidence for a tumoricidal effect of methadone is missing and prospective clinical trials, except in colorectal cancer, are not envisaged because of the limited preclinical data available. The present article reviews the pharmacokinetics, potential molecular targets, as well as the evidence for a tumoricidal effect of methadone in view of the therapeutically achievable doses in the brain. Moreover, it provides original in vitro data showing that methadone at clinically relevant concentrations fails to impair clonogenicity or radioresistance of glioblastoma cells.

Indexed as

Drug RepositioningAntineoplastic AgentsBrain NeoplasmsGlioblastomaHumansMethadoneReceptors, Opioid, muAntineoplastic AgentsMethadoneReceptors, Opioid, muA172cell cycle regulationclonogenic survivalcolony formation assayflow cytometryhuman glioblastoma cell linesionizing radiationT98GU251U87MG

Identifiers

PMID32560384
PMCPMC7356722
OpenAlexW3036835896

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.