ArticleMolecular and cellular biochemistry2021
Crocin and Metformin suppress metastatic breast cancer progression via VEGF and MMP9 downregulations: in vitro and in vivo studies.
Article in Molecular and cellular biochemistry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 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
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of Saffron (Integrative cancer therapiesPooled it
- From Stigma to Therapy: Pharmacological Insights into Saffron Bioactives for Major Non-Communicable Diseases.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- The Antitumour Mechanisms of Carotenoids: A Comprehensive Review.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Changes in the Sensitivity of MCF-7 and MCF-7/DX Breast Cancer Cells to Cytostatic in the Presence of Metformin.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Modulation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 signaling pathways in cancer angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis by natural compounds: a comprehensive and critical review.Cancer metastasis reviews · 2024Review
- The therapeutic effect of traditional Chinese medicine on breast cancer through modulation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Review
- Review
- Therapeutic Effects of Crocin Alone or in Combination with Sorafenib against Hepatocellular Carcinoma: In Vivo & In Vitro Insights.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Metformin inhibits melanoma cell metastasis by suppressing the miR-5100/SPINK5/STAT3 axis.Cellular & molecular biology letters · 2022Article
- Metformin counteracts stimulatory effects induced by insulin in primary breast cancer cells.Journal of translational medicine · 2022Article
- RETRACTED: Crocin Inhibits Angiogenesis and Metastasis in Colon Cancer via TNF-α/NF-kB/VEGF Pathways.Cells · 2022Article
- Insulin and cancer: a tangled web.The Biochemical journal · 2022Review
- Effects of saffron and its active constituent crocin on cancer management: A narrative review.Longhua Chinese medicine · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Metastatic breast cancer remains a serious health concern and numerous investigations recommended medicinal plants as a complementary therapy. Crocin is one of the known anticancer bio-component. Recently, the inhibitory effect of metformin has been studied on the various aspects of cancer. However, no study reported their combination effects on metastatic breast cancer. In the present study, we have assessed their anti-metastatic effects on in vitro and in vivo breast cancer models. Using MTT assay, scratch, and adhesion tests, we have evaluated the cytotoxic, anti-invasive and anti-adhesion effects of crocin and metformin on 4T1 cell line, respectively. Their protective effects and MMP9 as well as VEGF protein expression levels (Western blotting) investigated in the 4T1 murine breast cancer model. Our results showed that both crocin and metformin reduced cell viability, delayed scratch healing and inhibited the cell adhesion, in vitro. While crocin alone restored the mice's weight reduction, crocin, metformin, and their combination significantly reduced the tumor volume size and enhanced animal survival rate in murine breast cancer model, responses that were associated with VEGF and MMP9 down-regulation. These findings suggest that a combination of crocin and metformin could serve as a novel therapeutic approach to enhance the effectiveness of metastatic breast cancer therapy.
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.