Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41594902›Full record

ArticleBiology2026

Sulforaphane as a Multi-Scale Mechano-Modulator in Cancer: An Integrative Perspective.

Xin Zhang, Lili Cheng, Yifan Han, Tailin Chen, Xinbin Zhao

Abstract readComment
In one paragraph

Article in Biology, 2026. 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. Review
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

5 authors.

Xin ZhangKey Laboratory of Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Innovation and Transformation of Advanced Medical Devices, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, National Medical Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Advanced Medical Devices (Interdiscipline of Medicine and Engineering), Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering Medicine, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China.
Lili ChengHepatopancreatobiliary Center, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 102218, China.ORCID 0000-0001-8009-1069
Yifan HanKey Laboratory of Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Innovation and Transformation of Advanced Medical Devices, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, National Medical Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Advanced Medical Devices (Interdiscipline of Medicine and Engineering), Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering Medicine, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China.
Tailin ChenSchool of Basic Medicine, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning 530200, China.
Xinbin ZhaoKey Laboratory of Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Innovation and Transformation of Advanced Medical Devices, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, National Medical Innovation Platform for Industry-Education Integration in Advanced Medical Devices (Interdiscipline of Medicine and Engineering), Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering Medicine, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China.ORCID 0000-0002-6242-017X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cancer progression is driven not only by biochemical signals but also by abnormal physical forces within a stiffened tumor microenvironment. This review re-examines the anticancer compound sulforaphane (SFN) through the integrative lens of tumor biomechanics. We propose SFN functions as a "mechano-modulator," whose pleiotropic effects converge to disrupt pro-invasive mechanotransduction. SFN targets key force-sensitive pathways (e.g., YAP/TEAD, Rho/ROCK), destabilizes invasion machinery (cytoskeleton, invadopodia), and promotes tissue-level changes such as extracellular matrix remodeling. While preclinical evidence for this mechano-modulatory role is compelling, this perspective also highlights the critical need for clinical validation and discusses the key translational challenges. By systematically linking SFN's molecular actions to the biophysics of tumor progression, this synthesis provides a novel framework for understanding its efficacy and outlines a rational path for its future development as a mechano-inspired therapeutic.

Indexed as

anticancercytoskeletonmechanobiologymechanotransductionsulforaphanetumor biomechanicstumor microenvironment

Identifiers

PMID41594902
PMCPMC12838123

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.