Resveratrol and cancer: focus on in vivo evidence

Abstract

Resveratrol is a naturally occurring polyphenol that provides a number of anti-aging health benefits including improved metabolism, cardioprotection, and cancer prevention. Much of the work on resveratrol and cancer comes from in vitro studies looking at resveratrol actions on cancer cells and pathways. There are, however, comparatively fewer studies that have investigated resveratrol treatment and cancer outcomes in vivo, perhaps limited by its poor bioavailability when taken orally. Although research in cell culture has shown promising and positive effects of resveratrol, evidence from rodents and humans is inconsistent. This review highlights the in vivo effects of resveratrol treatment on breast, colorectal, liver, pancreatic, and prostate cancers. Resveratrol supplementation in animal models of cancer has shown positive, neutral as well as negative outcomes depending on resveratrol route of administration, dose, tumor model, species, and other factors. Within a specific cancer type, there is variability between studies with respect to strain, age, and sex of animal used, timing and method of resveratrol supplementation, and dose of resveratrol used to study cancer endpoints. Together, the data suggest that many factors need to be considered before resveratrol can be used for human cancer prevention or therapy.

Anti-tumor effects and cellular mechanisms of resveratrol

“…It has been shown to exhibit anti-oxidative and anti-inflammation activity, and to reverse the effects of aging in rats (5). It also has a cardio-protective effect (6) that regular moderate consumption of red wine confers less risk of cardiovascular diseases due to its relatively high resveratrol concentration (0.1-14.3 mg/L), widely known as the "French Paradox" (7). There are also other effects, which include phytoestrogen activity (8), neuroprotective activity (9), and antidepressant activity (10).…”

Anticancer Activities of Resveratrol in Colorectal Cancer

“…The anti-tumorigenic activity of resveratrol is supported by in vitro studies [17,18], animal experiments [10,19], and clinical trials [20][21][22][23]. Patients diagnosed with CRC and fed resveratrol show statistically significant reductions in tumor proliferation [6,7].…”

Roles of facilitative glucose transporter GLUT1 in [18F]FDG positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of human diseases

“…It is proposed that resveratrol binds at an endofacial site on GLUT1 and that the demonstrated inhibition is distinct from the effect of resveratrol on the intracellular phosphorylation/accumulation of glucose [171]. Resveratrol has shown some promise for the prevention or treatment of a number of cancers, but in vivo observations are still inconsistent [172]. In a study to investigate the effect of resveratrol on cancer cell glucose metabolism and the associated role of reactive oxygen species in the response, treatment with resveratrol resulted in a significant decrease in [ …”