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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Experimental Pharmacology and Drug Discovery
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1418111
This article is part of the Research Topic Terrestrial and Marine Natural Products and Their Synthetic Scaffolds for Chronic Diseases: A Ray of Hope - Volume II View all 7 articles

Effect of Icariin on Ovarian Cancer: A Combined Network Pharmacology and Meta-Analysis of In Vitro Studies Approach

Provisionally accepted
Shang-mei Cao Shang-mei Cao Bo-lin Chen Bo-lin Chen Zhen-zhen Zou Zhen-zhen Zou Shao-zhe Yang Shao-zhe Yang Xiuhong Fu Xiuhong Fu *
  • Luohe Central Hospital, Luohe, China

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

    An abundance of experimental evidence indicates that icariin (ICA) could potentially exert an anti-tumor effect on ovarian cancer (OC). Nevertheless, the reliability of this evidence remains ambiguous. This study aimed to explore the impact of ICA on OC and the underlying mechanisms. Bioinformatics analysis was employed to pinpoint ICA-targeted genes and signaling pathways implicated in OC, utilizing network pharmacology. Subsequently, PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases were systematically searched from 2001 through June 2023 for in vitro trials evaluating the anti-tumor efficacy of conventional ICA versus placebo in OC. The pathways and genes identified in the literature were recorded, and the therapeutic targets were statistically analyzed and compared with the predicted targets from network pharmacology to confirm the precision of the targets. Fourteen target genes were validated with success. The pathways corresponding to the remaining genes-excluding these 14-were analyzed and found to be primarily associated with cell apoptosis, anti-tumor, and other related pathways. Out of the 76 studies retrieved, eight fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The subsequent meta-analysis suggested that ICA treatment was significantly correlated with reduced cell growth and induced apoptosis. This study demonstrated a certain efficacy of ICA compared to placebo in enhancing anti-tumor outcomes, characterized by increased abilities in reducing cell growth and inducing apoptosis. The pathways involved in the therapeutic effect may be linked to cell apoptosis and anti-tumor mechanisms.

    Keywords: Anti-tumour, ovarian cancer, Network Pharmacology, Meta-analysis, Icariin

    Received: 25 Aug 2024; Accepted: 19 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Cao, Chen, Zou, Yang and Fu. 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: Xiuhong Fu, Luohe Central Hospital, Luohe, China

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