Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Oct 23;9(83):35448-35457.
doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.26234.

Naturally occurring compounds as pancreatic cancer therapeutics

Ines Lohse  1   2 , Erin Wildermuth  1 , Shaun P Brothers  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Naturally occurring compounds as pancreatic cancer therapeutics

Ines Lohse et al. Oncotarget. .

Abstract

Naturally occurring small molecule compounds have long been in the spotlight of pancreatic cancer research as potential therapeutics to prevent cancer progression and sensitize chemoresistant tumors. The hope is that terminal pancreatic cancer patients receiving aggressive chemotherapy can benefit from an increase in treatment efficacy without adding further toxicity by way of utilizing natural compounds. While preclinical studies on a number of natural compounds, such as resveratrol, curcumin, rapalogs and cannabinoids, show promising preclinical results, little has translated into clinical practice, though a number of other compounds hold clinical potential. Nevertheless, recent advances in compound formulation may increase the clinical utility of these compounds.

Keywords: curcumin; natural compounds; pancreatic cancer; resveratrol; taxane.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST SPB is a founder and shareholder of Jupiter Orphan Therapeutics, a University of Miami spinout company developing resveratrol for mucopolysaccharidosis I and Friedreichs Ataxia, but not for cancer. Otherwise the authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Mechanism of action of natural compounds
Included are the mechanisms of action for a number of compounds discussed in this review. As further discussed in the appropriate sections, the majority of natural compounds target a wide variety of cellular pathways which contributes to the varying observations made by different studies and inhibits the transition into clinical care.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Siegel RL, Miller KD, Jemal A. Cancer Statistics, 2017. CA Cancer J Clin. 2017;67:7–30. doi: 10.3322/caac.21387. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tempero MA, Malafa MP, Al-Hawary M, Asbun H, Bain A, Behrman SW, Benson AB, 3rd, Binder E, Cardin DB, Cha C, Chiorean EG, Chung V, Czito B, et al. Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma, Version 2.2017, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2017;15:1028–61. doi: 10.6004/jnccn.2017.0131. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Griffin JF, Poruk KE, Wolfgang CL. Pancreatic cancer surgery: past, present, and future. Chin J Cancer Res. 2015;27:332–48. doi: 10.3978/j.issn.1000-9604.2015.06.07. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Shaib WL, Ip A, Cardona K, Alese OB, Maithel SK, Kooby D, Landry J, El-Rayes BF. Contemporary Management of Borderline Resectable and Locally Advanced Unresectable Pancreatic Cancer. Oncologist. 2016;21:178–87. doi: 10.1634/theoncologist.2015-0316. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Adamska A, Elaskalani O, Emmanouilidi A, Kim M, Abdol Razak NB, Metharom P, Falasca M. Molecular and cellular mechanisms of chemoresistance in pancreatic cancer. Adv Biol Regul. 2018;68:77–87. doi: 10.1016/j.jbior.2017.11.007. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources