Plant Natural Compounds in the Treatment of Adrenocortical Tumors

Abstract

Plant natural products are a plethora of diverse and complex molecules produced by the plant secondary metabolism. Among these, many can reserve beneficial or curative properties when employed to treat human diseases. Even in cancer, they can be successfully used and indeed numerous phytochemicals exert antineoplastic activity. The most common molecules derived from plants and used in the fight against cancer are polyphenols, i.e., quercetin, genistein, resveratrol, curcumin, etc. Despite valuable data especially in preclinical models on such compounds, few of them are currently used in the medical practice. Also, in adrenocortical tumors (ACT), phytochemicals are scarcely or not at all used. This work summarizes the available research on phytochemicals used against ACT and adrenocortical cancer, a very rare disease with poor prognosis and high metastatic potential, and wants to contribute to stimulate preclinical and clinical research to find new therapeutic strategies among the overabundance of biomolecules produced by the plant kingdom.

Integrating natural compounds and nanoparticle‐based drug delivery systems: A novel strategy for enhanced efficacy and selectivity in cancer therapy

“…Quercetin has many biological properties and generally long‐standing anti‐inflammatory capacities. It was also reported that quercetin showed neurological, antiviral, anti‐allergic, and antiangiogenesis effects 95,97 . Furthermore, research indicated that it has significant anticancer potential.…”

“…It was also reported that quercetin showed neurological, antiviral, anti-allergic, and antiangiogenesis effects. 95,97 Furthermore, research indicated that it has significant anticancer potential. The anticancer activity of quercetin is considered against various types of malignancy involving breast, colorectal, liver, lung, prostate, and skin cancer.…”