Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41212415›Full record

ArticleMolecular biomedicine2025

The role of Nrf2 in anoikis resistance and metastasis in anaplastic thyroid carcinoma.

Simiao Fan, Huangcan Li, Ke Li, Zhongqin Gong, Xianhai Zeng, Shan-Shan Wang, Yang Li, Chunlei Nie, Charles Andrew van Hasselt, Jason Yk Chan and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular biomedicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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.

Simiao Fan *Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Huangcan Li *Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Ke LiShenzhen Key Laboratory of ENT, Institute of ENT & Longgang, ENT Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
Zhongqin GongDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Xianhai ZengShenzhen Key Laboratory of ENT, Institute of ENT & Longgang, ENT Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
Shan-Shan WangSchool of Life Sciences and Biopharmaceutics, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China.
Yang LiSchool of Life Sciences and Biopharmaceutics, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China.
Chunlei NieThe Third Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
Charles Andrew van HasseltDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Jason Yk ChanDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Michael Chi Fai TongDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China.
George Gong ChenDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China. gchen@cuhk.edu.hk.ORCID 0000-0001-7276-3830

Funding

Innovative Research Group Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China 82402076Overseas Distinguished Scholars Program of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University GDPUODS2025013the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region CUHK 14108921
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is one of the most aggressive endocrine malignancies, characterized by rapid progression, extensive metastasis, and extremely poor prognosis. Despite advances in molecular oncology, the mechanisms driving ATC metastasis and therapeutic resistance remain largely unclear. Cancer cells that detach from the extracellular matrix must evade a specific form of apoptosis known as anoikis, and the ability to survive under these anchorage-independent conditions is a critical prerequisite for metastatic dissemination. The transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) has emerged as a master regulator of oxidative-stress responses and tumor adaptation, yet its function in governing anoikis resistance in ATC is not well understood. Here we demonstrate that Nrf2 expression is markedly upregulated in ATC tissues and cell lines, where its nuclear translocation drives transcriptional activation of anti-apoptotic and redox-protective genes including BCL-2 and SLC7A11. Under detachment stress, Nrf2 activation enhances cell viability, inhibits apoptosis, and facilitates multicellular aggregate formation, thereby promoting survival. Conversely, genetic silencing or pharmacological inhibition of Nrf2 with Brusatol markedly suppresses proliferation, invasion, and in vivo liver metastasis. Collectively, these findings identify Nrf2 as a pivotal driver of ATC anoikis resistance and metastatic competence through regulation of the BCL-2/SLC7A11 axis. Targeting the Nrf2-dependent survival pathway may thus offer a promising therapeutic strategy for this otherwise refractory malignancy.

Indexed as

NF-E2-Related Factor 2Thyroid Carcinoma, AnaplasticThyroid NeoplasmsAnimalsAnoikisCell Line, TumorCell ProliferationFemaleGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHumansMiceMice, Inbred BALB CNeoplasm MetastasisReal-Time Polymerase Chain ReactionNFE2L2 protein, humanNF-E2-Related Factor 2Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC)Anoikis resistanceBCL-2Nrf2SLC7A11Therapeutic target

Identifiers

PMID41212415
PMCPMC12602778

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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.