Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40922675›Full record

ArticleJournal of biophotonics2026

Evaluating the Efficacy of Mebendazole Repurposing for Ovarian Cancer Therapy Using Optical Coherence Tomography.

Rajani Rai, Qinghao Zhang, Bornface M Mutembei, Feng Yan, Kaustubh Pandit, Ke Zhang, Chen Wang, Ronghao Liu, Junyuan Liu, Ebenezer Raj Selvaraj Mercyshalinie and 6 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of biophotonics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

16 authors.

Rajani RaiGynecologic Oncology Section, Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA.
Qinghao ZhangStephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.ORCID 0009-0005-2906-6315
Bornface M MutembeiStephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.
Feng YanStephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9926-7554
Kaustubh PanditStephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.ORCID 0009-0005-9656-4058
Ke ZhangStephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.
Chen WangStephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-4645-3227
Ronghao LiuStephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.
Junyuan LiuStephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.
Ebenezer Raj Selvaraj MercyshalinieStephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.
Yan CuiStephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.
Hayden A PeekStephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.
Lillian J DaiNorman North High School, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.
Yuye LingSchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.
Lauren E DockeryGynecologic Oncology Section, Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA.
Qinggong TangStephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.

Funding

Tissue Pathology Shared ResourceP30CA225520 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA HLTH SCIENCES CTR · PI ROBERT S. MANNEL · 2018 to 2026
$27.1M
TUMOR RESISTANCE MECHANISMS TO ANTI-VEGF THERAPY IN PROSTATE CANCER (Sukyung Woo)P20GM103639 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA HLTH SCIENCES CTR · PI DHANASEKARAN, DANNY N. · 2012 to 2022
$21.3M
Use of 3D Quantitative Optical Methods to Optimize Mebendazole Treatment of Ovarian CancerP20GM135009 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA · PI Javier Antonio Jo · 2022 to 2026
$13.6M
Mentoring Translational Cancer Research in OklahomaP30GM154635 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA HLTH SCIENCES CTR · PI Muralidharan Jayaraman · 2024 to 2026
$4.3M
Automatic Wide-Field Optical Coherence Tomography for Assessment of Transplant Kidney ViabilityR01DK133717 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST · PI POTTER, STEVEN, TANG, QINGGONG · 2022 to 2025
$2.5M
Grant from the Data Institute for Societal Challenges and the Research Council funded by the Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships of the University of Oklahoma Norman CampusMidwest Biomedical Accelerator ConsortiumNational Science FoundationNCI NIH HHS P30 CA225520NIDDK NIH HHS R01 DK133717NIGMS NIH HHS P20 GM103639NIGMS NIH HHS P20 GM135009NIGMS NIH HHS P30 GM154635NIH HHSNIH Research Evaluation and Commercialization HubOklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and TechnologyOU Libraries' Open Access FundThe Prevent Cancer FoundationThe University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Ovarian cancer (OvCa) remains the leading cause of gynecological cancer mortality, with most patients developing chemoresistance. Drug repurposing offers promising alternatives, with mebendazole (MBZ) showing anticancer activity. This study evaluates MBZ efficacy using Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT). We conducted longitudinal imaging of 40 wild-type (WT) and cisplatin-resistant (CPR) OVCAR8 multicellular tumor spheroids over 11 days. Four analyses were performed: volume analysis, optical attenuation analysis, uniformity analysis, and texture feature analysis. Volume analysis showed MBZ reduced spheroid growth in both groups, with greater effects in CPR-MCTs. Optical attenuation analysis revealed increased necrotic tissue ratios in treated spheroids. Uniformity analysis demonstrated MBZ targets heterogeneous tissues effectively. Texture analysis identified significant structural changes, with 866 altered features in CPR spheroids versus 124 in WT spheroids. Cell viability assays confirmed MBZ's effectiveness against standard and chemo-resistant OVCAR8 tumors. This study demonstrates SD-OCT's utility for noninvasive therapy monitoring in 3D cancer models.

Indexed as

Drug RepositioningMebendazoleOvarian NeoplasmsTomography, Optical CoherenceAntineoplastic AgentsCell Line, TumorCell SurvivalDrug Resistance, NeoplasmFemaleHumansSpheroids, CellularAntineoplastic AgentsMebendazoledrug repurposingmebendazoleoptical coherence tomographyovarian cancer

Identifiers

PMID40922675
PMCPMC12719058

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Registered trials

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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.