Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42358350›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in pharmacology2026

Targeting phosphofructokinase in cancer: integrating natural products for metabolic reprogramming and therapeutic innovation.

Chengjian Cao, Chaoxiang Lv, Ali ElFar

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in pharmacology, 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

3 authors.

Chengjian CaoZigong Academy of Medical Sciences, Zigong First People's Hospital, Zigong, China.
Chaoxiang LvKey Laboratory of Epigenetics and Oncology, The Research Center for Preclinical Medicine, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.
Ali ElFarKey Laboratory of Epigenetics and Oncology, The Research Center for Preclinical Medicine, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The metabolism of cancer cells is reprogrammed toward aerobic glycolysis (the Warburg effect), which stimulates tumor growth. Phosphofructokinase (PFK) and its isoforms, PFKP, PFKM, and PFKL, are highly conserved central glycolytic controllers and a potential therapeutic intervention. This review discusses the complex functions of PFK in tumor biology, including its roles in regulating proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and therapy resistance. It further discusses the tumor microenvironmental role of PFK, which influences immune evasion, angiogenesis, and stromal interactions, as well as its non-metabolic signaling functions. The therapeutic approaches to PFK, such as synthetic (e.g., PFK15) and natural (e.g., curcumin) compounds, are considered alongside strategies to address specific difficulties. Lastly, the review is based on a combination of expression analysis of PFK isoforms and a closer analysis of synthetic and natural inhibitors, and it suggests a prospective framework for implementing PFK-targeted therapies in clinical practice that incorporates AI-based drug design, nanodelivery, and immune-metabolic modulation.

Indexed as

cancer metabolismmetabolic reprogrammingPFK inhibitorsphosphofructokinasetherapeutic targetWarburg effect

Identifiers

PMID42358350
PMCPMC13291013

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.