SynthesisBritish journal of cancer2025
The organ-specific modulation of malignant processes by opioids: a systematic review of cell culture studies.
Synthesis in British journal of cancer, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Opioid use and the risk of cancer incidence and mortality: a systematic review.Cancer metastasis reviews · 2025Pooled it
- In Vitro Effects of Anaesthetic Compounds on a Panel of Solid Tumour Cell Lines-An Exploratory Study.Journal of cellular and molecular medicine · 2026Article
- Regular use of pharmaceutical opioids and subsequent risk of cancer: a prospective cohort study and Mendelian randomization analysis.EClinicalMedicine · 2025Article
- Decoding HSP90AA1-driven inflammatory signaling in the uveal melanoma microenvironment: an integrated analysis at single-cell resolution.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
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.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) monographs recently classified opium consumption as carcinogenic to humans in certain organs, raising concerns regarding the effects of pharmaceutical opioids. This systematic review (Open Science Framework osf.io/xyg9p) evaluated whether opioid exposure causes organ-specific modulation of malignant processes in cancer cell culture studies.
methodsWe identified all research articles evaluating tumour modulation by opioids in vitro through 28/02/2024. Data on the organ of origin of cancer cells, opioid activity, opioid exposure, and cancer outcomes (tumour cell growth, metastasis, clonogenicity) were extracted. Statistical analyses were performed using Fisher's exact tests and multivariable logistic regression.
resultsThe anti-cancer outcome was the most prevalent (57%) while only 11% of experiments reported pro-cancer outcomes. A total of 230 publications, comprising 1465 experiments, were included. Low opioid concentrations (p = 0.0005), short exposure durations (p = 0.0035), and organs where cancer risk increases with opium use (p = 0.002), were associated with reporting of pro-cancer effects for opioid agonists.
conclusionThe findings support a positive association between opioid exposure and growth of cancer cells from lung, bladder, larynx, pancreas, pharynx, stomach, or oesophagus and further reveal duration and concentration as critical factors in experiments evaluating the effects of opioids on cultured cancer cells.
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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.