ReviewAntioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)2020
Pro-Oxidant Actions of Carotenoids in Triggering Apoptosis of Cancer Cells: A Review of Emerging Evidence.
Review in Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 81 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
81 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 160 citations in OpenAlex.
- Skin Aging and Carotenoids: A Systematic Review of Their Multifaceted Protective Mechanisms.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Not all carotenoids can reduce the risk of gastric cancer: a systematic review with meta-analysis.BMC gastroenterology · 2024Pooled it
- Trial
- Dietary Carotenoids and Cognitive Decline: A Longitudinal Study Among Chinese Middle-Aged and Older Adults.Health care science · 2026Article
- Antioxidant Compounds in Microalgae and Cyanobacteria: A Sustainable Source of Bioactive Molecules.Marine drugs · 2026Review
- Bacterioruberin fromInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Radiosensitizing effect of astaxanthin on radiation-induced cytotoxicity in breast cancer cells.Journal of the Egyptian National Cancer Institute · 2026Article
- Xanthophyll-Rich Extracts fromNutrients · 2026Article
- β-Cryptoxanthin Confers Radioprotection against Intestinal Injury via NRF2-Mediated Antioxidant Response and Gut Microbiota Reprogramming.International journal of biological sciences · 2026Article
- Dietary carotenoids and breast cancer risk: evidence from a large population-based incident case-control study.Nutrition & metabolism · 2025Article
- Exploring the effects of ROS on PI3K/AKT/mTOR signalling in pediatric low-grade glioma and therapeutic strategies.Molecular biology reports · 2025Review
- Bacterioruberin extract from Haloferax mediterranei induces apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in myeloid leukaemia cell lines.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Postbiotics as Mitochondrial Modulators in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Mechanistic Insights and Therapeutic Potential.Biomolecules · 2025Review
- A Comprehensive Review on the Molecular Mechanism of Lycopene in Cancer Therapy.Food science & nutrition · 2025Review
- Terpenes: natural compounds found in plants as potential senotherapeutics targeting senescent mesenchymal stromal cells and promoting apoptosis.Stem cell research & therapy · 2025Article
- Antitumor Assessment of Liposomal Beta-Carotene with Tamoxifen Against Breast Carcinoma Cell Line: An In Vitro Study.Biomolecules · 2025Article
- Contribution of tumor microenvironment (TME) to tumor apoptosis, angiogenesis, metastasis, and drug resistance.Medical oncology (Northwood, London, England) · 2025Review
- Crosstalk Between Antioxidants and Adipogenesis: Mechanistic Pathways and Their Roles in Metabolic Health.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Cold atmospheric plasma activated media selectively affects human head and neck cancer cell lines.Oral diseases · 2025Article
- From laboratory to clinic: opportunities and challenges of functional food active ingredients in cancer therapy.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
21 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
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Carotenoids are well known for their potent antioxidant function in the cellular system. However, in cancer cells with an innately high level of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), carotenoids may act as potent pro-oxidant molecules and trigger ROS-mediated apoptosis. In recent years, the pro-oxidant function of several common dietary carotenoids, including astaxanthin, β-carotene, fucoxanthin, and lycopene, has been investigated for their effective killing effects on various cancer cell lines. Besides, when carotenoids are delivered with ROS-inducing cytotoxic drugs (e.g., anthracyclines), they can minimize the adverse effects of these drugs on normal cells by acting as antioxidants without interfering with their cytotoxic effects on cancer cells as pro-oxidants. These dynamic actions of carotenoids can optimize oxidative stress in normal cells while enhancing oxidative stress in cancer cells. This review discusses possible mechanisms of carotenoid-triggered ROS production in cancer cells, the activation of pro-apoptotic signaling by ROS, and apoptotic cell death. Moreover, synergistic actions of carotenoids with ROS-inducing anti-cancer drugs are discussed, and research gaps are suggested.
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.