biostudies-literatureDu RNational Natural Science Foundation of Chinathe Doctoral Research Start-up Fund Project of Nanyang Institute of Technologythe Talent Program of Central China：Science and Technology Innovation Leading Talentthe Science and Technology Project of Henan Province9167https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11035576biostudies-literatureUnknown14(1)Syndecan-binding protein (SDCBP) was reported to stimulate the advancement of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and could potentially be a target for ESCC treatment. There is a growing corpus of research on the anti-tumor effects of iron chelators; however, very few studies have addressed the involvement of dexrazoxane in cancer. In this study, structure-based virtual screening was employed to select drugs targeting SDCBP from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug databases. The sepharose 4B beads pull-down assay revealed that dexrazoxane targeted SDCBP by interacting with its PDZ1 domain. Additionally, dexrazoxane inhibited ESCC cell proliferation and anchorage-independent colony formation via SDCBP. ESCC cell apoptosis and G2 phase arrest were induced as measured bScientific reportsDexrazoxane inhibits the growth of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma by attenuating SDCBP/MDA-9/syntenin-mediated EGFR-PI3K-Akt pathway activation.PMC1103557682273058234200510006NGBJ-2022-0582002592222102310156Xiao NDu RGuo KHuang YHan LChen ZZhang HBian HLi KZhou ZZhao XfalseDexrazoxane inhibits the growth of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma by attenuating SDCBP/MDA-9/syntenin-mediated EGFR-PI3K-Akt pathway activation.Syndecan-binding protein (SDCBP) was reported to stimulate the advancement of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and could potentially be a target for ESCC treatment. There is a growing corpus of research on the anti-tumor effects of iron chelators; however, very few studies have addressed the involvement of dexrazoxane in cancer. In this study, structure-based virtual screening was employed to select drugs targeting SDCBP from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug databases. The sepharose 4B beads pull-down assay revealed that dexrazoxane targeted SDCBP by interacting with its PDZ1 domain. Additionally, dexrazoxane inhibited ESCC cell proliferation and anchorage-independent colony formation via SDCBP. ESCC cell apoptosis and G2 phase arrest were induced as measured b2024-01-01T00:00:00Z2024 Apr2026-06-03T01:31:52.457Z2026-04-22T03:13:24.615ZS-EPMC110355763864977010.1038/s41598-024-59665-5