Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32829010›Full record

ArticleCancer letters2020

Repurposing metformin, simvastatin and digoxin as a combination for targeted therapy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Shi-He Liu, Juehua Yu, Justin F Creeden, Jeffrey M Sutton, Stephen Markowiak, Robbi Sanchez, John Nemunaitis, Andrea Kalinoski, Jian-Ting Zhang, Robert Damoiseaux and 2 more

Open access · greenAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Cancer letters, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 30% 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

15 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Repurposing of NKA inhibitors ('cardiac glycosides'): a critical analysis.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026
    Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Chinese herbal medicines · 2025
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Article
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

12 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Shi-He LiuDepartment of Surgery, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, 43614, USA; Department of Cancer Biology, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, 43614, USA. Electronic address: Shi-He.Liu@Utoledo.edu.
Juehua YuDepartment of Surgery, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
Justin F CreedenDepartment of Surgery, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, 43614, USA; Department of Cancer Biology, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, 43614, USA.
Jeffrey M SuttonDepartment of Surgery, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, 43614, USA.
Stephen MarkowiakDepartment of Surgery, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, 43614, USA.
Robbi SanchezDepartment of Surgery, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
John NemunaitisDepartment of Medicine, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, 43614, USA.
Andrea KalinoskiDepartment of Surgery, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, 43614, USA.
Jian-Ting ZhangDepartment of Cancer Biology, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, 43614, USA.
Robert DamoiseauxDepartment of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
Paul ErhardtDepartment of Medicinal and Biological Chemistry, University of Toledo College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toledo, OH, 43614, USA.
F Charles BrunicardiDepartment of Surgery, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, 43614, USA; Department of Cancer Biology, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, 43614, USA.
University of Toledo · USUniversity of California, Los Angeles · US

Funding

Women's CancersP30CA016042 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI Samuel Wheeler French · 1985 to 2026
$134.5M
NCI NIH HHS P30 CA016042
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) have a 5-year survival rate of 8%, the lowest of any cancer in the United States. Traditional chemotherapeutic regimens, such as gemcitabine- and fluorouracil-based regimens, often only prolong survival by months. Effective precision targeted therapy is therefore urgently needed to substantially improve survival. In an effort to expedite approval and delivery of targeted therapy to patients, we utilized a platform to develop a novel combination of FDA approved drugs that would target pancreaticoduodenal homeobox1 (PDX1) and baculoviral inhibitor of apoptosis repeat-containing 5 (BIRC5) utilizing super-promoters of the target genes to interrogate an FDA approved drug library. We identified and selected metformin, simvastatin and digoxin (C3) as a novel combination of FDA approved drugs, which were shown to effectively target PDX1 and BIRC5 in human PDAC tumors in mice with no toxicity.

Indexed as

Drug RepositioningAnimalsCarcinoma, Pancreatic DuctalCell Line, TumorDigoxinDrug CombinationsDrug SynergismHigh-Throughput Screening AssaysHomeodomain ProteinsHumansMaleMetforminMiceMolecular Targeted TherapyPancreatic NeoplasmsSimvastatinDigoxinDrug CombinationsHomeodomain ProteinsMetforminpancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1 proteinSimvastatinSurvivinTrans-ActivatorsBIRC5FDA Approved drug librariesHigh throughput screeningPDX1Super promoter

Identifiers

PMID32829010
PMCPMC8766172
OpenAlexW3080094653

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
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.