ReviewFrontiers in pharmacology2025
Melatonin: a natural guardian in cancer treatment.
Review in Frontiers in pharmacology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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
14 citing papers in PubMed.
- The protective effect of chemical and natural compounds against amiodarone induced toxicity: A systematic review.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2026Review
- Prenatal road traffic noise impairs early testicular development in Sprague-Dawley offspring: pharmacological rescue by melatonin and edaravone; developmental preservation by environmental enrichment.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Article
- Melatonin in lung cancer: integrating molecular mechanisms, tumor microenvironment regulation, apoptotic signaling, and therapeutic opportunities.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026Review
- The Protective Role of Selenium Against Thyroid Injury in Pigs: Involvement of PINK1/Parkin-Mediated Mitophagy and Apoptosis Regulation.Biological trace element research · 2026Article
- Agomelatine versus gefitinib against HepG2 cells: Modulating PI3K/AKT and MAPK/RAF1/c-FOS pathways.Molecular biology reports · 2026Article
- Multiaxial Biophysical Control of Oncogenic Phase Separation by Indoleamines: A Proof-of-Concept Synthesis of Landscape-Level Regulation.Journal of pineal research · 2026Review
- The Redox Paradox of Natural Supplements in Cancer: A Narrative Review to Guide Clinical Practice.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Article
- Melatonin and Selected Phytochemicals: A Promising Combination to Target Altered Metabolism in Cancer.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Nocturnal Melatonin Deficiency in Colorectal Cancer: Independent Predictive Value Beyond Sleep Quality.The Turkish journal of gastroenterology : the official journal of Turkish Society of Gastroenterology · 2026Article
- Melatonin at the Crossroads of Oxidative Stress, Immunity, and Cancer Therapy.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Therapeutic and chemopreventive potential of melatonin in liver diseases: targeting oxidative stress and inflammatory signaling.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Therapeutic Potential of Melatonin in Gastrointestinal Cancers: Molecular Mechanisms, Preclinical Evidence and Clinical Implications.Journal of pineal research · 2026Review
- In vivo dynamic monitoring of self-assembled melatonin nanodrug combined with photothermal effects to alleviate hypoxia to attenuate tumor aggressiveness.Journal of nanobiotechnology · 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
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Melatonin (MLT), a naturally occurring hormone produced by the pineal gland, exhibits significant anticancer effects. It has superior antioxidant, inhibit tumor cell proliferation, migration, angiogenesis-inhibiting, and tumor cell apoptosis-inducing functions. Mechanistically, melatonin inhibits tumor development through epigenetic regulation, metabolic reprogramming, immune micro-environment, and regulation of important signaling pathways (PI3K/AKT). In addition, MLT significantly enhances anticancer efficacy in combination with other anticancer drugs, such as cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil, and paclitaxel. However, the shortcomings of melatonin, such as its low bioavailability, rapid metabolism, and significant individual variation in secretion, have limited its clinical application in anticancer therapy. This limitation has been mitigated by targeted delivery and individualized therapy. Therefore, MLT may be a promising candidate for natural hormone therapy in the future.
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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.