Editorial
Natural Products and their Attributes in Oncology Area: Hope on the Horizon?
Saad Sabbar Dahham*
Department of Biology, Rustaq College of Education, Colleges of Applied Sciences (CAS), Oman
*Corresponding author: Saad Sabbar Dahham, Department of Biology, Rustaq College of Education, Colleges of Applied Sciences (CAS), Oman
Published: 23 Nov, 2017
Cite this article as: Dahham SS. Natural Products and their
Attributes in Oncology Area: Hope on
the Horizon?. Clin Oncol. 2017; 2: 1370.
Editorial
Cancer is the general name of a heterogeneous group of more than 100 diseases. It arises from
dysregulation in normal cellular mechanisms; and it is characterized by alterations in the expression
of multiple genes, leading to local tissue invasion, which may eventually turn into metastasis. During
carcinogenesis, cells undergo a multistep process to acquire specific characteristics that can promote
cancer development, including these six essential hallmarks: sustaining proliferative signaling,
evading growth suppressors, evading programmed cell death (apoptosis), enabling replicative
immortality, inducing angiogenesis, and activating invasion and metastasis. These six key features of
cancer have been recently revised to add two more hallmarks: the ability to reprogram cell metabolism
to generate adequate energy, and the ability to avoid immune destruction. Malignant growths are
also believed to acquire additional characteristics which enable them to promote inflammation, and
genome instability [1]. We are pleased to introduce the(Clinics in Oncology) journal with eminent
reviewers and editors in the field of cancer biology, discussing new approaches in molecular
cancer therapeutics. In this issue, we hope to bring your articles offering unique insights on the
breakthroughs and challenges in understanding the impact of natural products on developing new
anticancer agents. There is some truth to the old adage that the therapeutic use of natural products
and their derivatives is as old as the human race. The ancient civilizations provided written evidences
for the use of natural sources to treat various illnesses. According to the World Health Organization
(WHO), about 80 % of population in the developing countries relies on traditional herbal medicine
for primary health care needs. Recently, a wide range of plant-derived phytochemical components
and their synthetic derivatives have been suggested for cancer treatment. Moreover, it has been
estimated that 25 %-48 % of the currently approved therapies by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) are derived from plants. The Dictionary of Natural product has listed about 200,000 plant
secondary metabolites with abroad spectrum of biodiversity and high degree of stereochemistry.
However, it is estimated that only 0.5% of the medicinal plants have been chemically thus far, leaving
an abundant source for further examination [2]. Although, there are many therapeutic approaches
to treating cancer, results are not fully satisfactory because the cytotoxicity of chemotherapy to solid
tumors is nonspecific. Besides, selective anticancer drugs are lacking and some recurring tumors can
become resistant to drugs. The capacity of a chemotherapeutic agent to target malignant cells while
preserving normal cells is the hallmark of a promising cancer drug. Thus, the discovery of really
effective anticancer drugs is a very important and highly challenging mission. Most recently, our
research team in EMAN testing and research laboratory- USM- Malaysia and CAS in Oman had the
opportunity to work on several plant extracts, pure compounds and synthetic molecules towards
different cancer cells, and what we found is that many natural products have the ability to target
cancer cells selectively via different mechanism. For example, β-caryophyllene is one of the major
terpene found in enormous essential oils plant. It seems to possess strong inhibitory activity against
colorectal tumor growth through a mechanism that appears to involve apoptosis induction and
angiogenesis suppression [3]. Taken together the mutli-functional properties of β-caryophyllene
which includes anticancer, antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities suggest that
such molecule/s may interact with several components of tumor pathway [4]. With the potential
benefits of natural products, we hope to be able to discover and publish new compounds that may
be therapeutically useful against carcinogenesis. This article issue does not aim for a comprehensive
coverage of the wide and complex field of natural products. Ruther, we hope to stimulate our
readership with a number of papers highlighting emerging discoveries in the area of research, and
to spot our commitment to covering hot and promising topics.
Clinics in Oncology aims to be a forum for research and review articles that employ robust
models and provide mechanistic insights on the field of oncology. We are highly acknowledging
the validation data of key findings using in vivo model and molecular
imaging. We hope that the scope highlighted here underscore our
commitment to publishing strong articles. Finally, we sincerely thank
our authors, editors and reviewers for their contribution, and hope
you enjoy these papers.
References
- Hanahan D, Weinberg R A. Hallmarks of cancer: the next generation. Cell. 2011; 144(5): 646-674.
- Dahham S S, Hassan L E A, Ahamed M B K, Majid A S A, Majid A. In vivo toxicity and antitumor activity of essential oils extract from agarwood (Aquilariacrassna). BMC complementary and alternative medicine. 2016; 16(1): 236.
- Dahham SS, Tabana YM, Iqbal MA, Ahamed MB, Ezzat MO, Majid AS, et al. The anticancer, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of the sesquiterpene β-caryophyllene from the essential oil of Aquilariacrassna. Molecules. 2015; 20(7): 11808-11829.
- Dahham S S, Tabana Y M, Ahamed M B K, Majid A. In vivo anti-inflammatory activity of β-caryophyllene, evaluated by molecular imaging. Molecules & Medicinal Chemistry. 2015.