Phytochemicals and Cancer Stem Cells: A Pancreatic Cancer Overview

Among gastro-intestinal cancers, pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death mainly due to late diagnosis. Although there is significant improvement in chemotherapy regimen but still five year survival rate is maximum 6%. Resistance offered by cancer stem cells towards the chemotherapeutic drug might be one solid reason behind this. Cancer stem cells (CSC), a subset of the heterogeneous cell population of a tumor are self-renewable and can differentiate into all types of cancer cells. Inhibition of CSC activity might be a good approach in treatment of cancer. Anti-cancer activities of several naturally occurring phytochemicals are well established. Plethora of evidences supports the protective role of phytochemicals in suppressing CSC acivity. Here in this review an attempt has been made to summarize the activity of phytochemicals like curcumin, resveratrol, quercetin, catechin etc. towards inhibiting CSCs in pancreatic cancer.
Source: Current Chemical Biology - Category: Biochemistry Source Type: research