Berberine for preventing colorectal adenoma recurrence and neoplasm occurrence: 6-Year follow-up of a randomized clinical trial
Berberine has been reported as a safe and effective pharmacological agent to reduce colorectal adenoma recurrence after polypectomy. This retrospective cohort study is an extended follow-up of a previous clinical trial (NCT02226185) during the post-treatment observational phase. We aim to evaluate the long-term protective effects of berberine on adenoma recurrence. Among 895 patients who finished the previous 2-year randomized trial, we recruited 781 patients at 7 clinical centers across 6 provinces in China. The primary outcome is adenoma recurrence. Between December 29, 2018, and October 10, 2024, 648 patients underwent at least one colonoscopy during the follow-up. The protective effects of berberine persist for at least 6 years after treatment cessation, with lower adenoma recurrence rate (34.7% vs. 52.1%) and lower neoplasm occurrence rate (63.4% vs. 71.0%). Berberine may serve as a potential long-term preventive agent against adenoma recurrence after polypectomy.
Authors
- Jing‐Yuan Fang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2282-0248)
- Xiaotan Dou
- Side Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8192-988X)
- Jianqiu Sheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9455-0198)
- Qin‐Yan Gao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1182-1378)
- Mingjie Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3193-7694)
- Huimin Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5241-2408)
- Yaxuan Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8369-2126)
- Shao Hui Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8072-4388)
- Yun Cui
- Yingxuan Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1617-9001)
- Hailong Cao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0057-3939)
- Jin Peng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3410-6228)
- Zhanju Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6149-3628)
- Ke Yu
- Xiaomin Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9307-4735)
- Xiaoning Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8469-6807)
- Yeh Hong Tan
- Jianlin Ren (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4973-7076)
- Xiaoping Zou
- Tian-Hui Zou
Institutions
- Tongji University (CN)
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
- Renji Hospital (CN)
- Tianjin Medical University General Hospital (CN)
- Chinese PLA General Hospital (CN)
- Nanfang Hospital (CN)
- Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital (CN)
- Zhongshan Hospital of Xiamen University (CN)
- Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital (CN)
- Shanghai Institute of Hematology (CN)
- Southern Medical University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Cell Reports Medicine
- Published
- 2025-08-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2025.102293
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Berberine and alkaloids research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.79
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Shanghai Shenkang Hospital Development Center
- National Key Research and Development Program of China