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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Oral. Health
Sec. Oral Cancers
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/froh.2024.1495942

Towards an emerging role for anticoagulants in cancer therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Provisionally accepted
Huda M. Al-Azzawi Huda M. Al-Azzawi 1Syed A. Hamza Syed A. Hamza 1Rita Paolini Rita Paolini 1Fizza Arshad Fizza Arshad 1Romeo Patini Romeo Patini 2*Lorraine A. O'Reilly Lorraine A. O'Reilly 3,4Michael J. McCullough Michael J. McCullough 1Antonio Celentano Antonio Celentano 1*
  • 1 Melbourne Dental School, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  • 2 Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic (IRCCS), Rome, Lazio, Italy
  • 3 Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
  • 4 Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Anticoagulants, renowned for their role in preventing blood clot formation, have captivated researchers' attention for the exploitation of their potential to inhibit cancer in pre-clinical models.Objectives: To undertake a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of anticoagulants in murine cancer research models. Further, to present a reference tool for anticoagulant therapeutic modalities relating to future animal pre-clinical models of cancer and their translation into the clinic.Methods: Four databases were utilized including Medline (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), Web of science, and Scopus databases. We included studies relating to any cancer conducted in murine models that assessed the effect of traditional anticoagulants (heparin and its derivatives and warfarin) and newer oral anticoagulants on cancer.Results: A total of 6158 articles were identified in an initial multi-database search. A total of 157 records were finally included for data extraction. Studies on heparin species and warfarin demonstrated statistically significant results in favour of tumour growth and metastasis inhibition.Our findings constitute a valuable reference guide for the application of anticoagulants in cancer research and explore the promising utilization of non-anticoagulants heparin in preclinical cancer research.

    Keywords: Cancer, NOACs Field Code Changed, Anticoagulants, Heparin, Warfarin, preclinical mice models

    Received: 13 Sep 2024; Accepted: 08 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Al-Azzawi, Hamza, Paolini, Arshad, Patini, O'Reilly, McCullough and Celentano. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Romeo Patini, Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic (IRCCS), Rome, 00168, Lazio, Italy
    Antonio Celentano, Melbourne Dental School, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, 3053, Victoria, Australia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.