Ginsenosides: changing the basic hallmarks of cancer cells to achieve the purpose of treating breast cancer

Abstract

In 2021, breast cancer accounted for a substantial proportion of cancer cases and represented the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women worldwide. Although tumor cells originate from normal cells in the human body, they possess distinct biological characteristics resulting from changes in gene structure and function of cancer cells in contrast with normal cells. These distinguishing features, known as hallmarks of cancer cells, differ from those of normal cells. The hallmarks primarily include high metabolic activity, mitochondrial dysfunction, and resistance to cell death. Current evidence suggests that the fundamental hallmarks of tumor cells affect the tissue structure, function, and metabolism of tumor cells and their internal and external environment. Therefore, these fundamental hallmarks of tumor cells enable tumor cells to proliferate, invade and avoid apoptosis. Modifying these hallmarks of tumor cells represents a new and potentially promising approach to tumor treatment. The key to breast cancer treatment lies in identifying the optimal therapeutic agent with minimal toxicity to normal cells, considering the specific types of tumor cells in patients. Some herbal medicines contain active ingredients which can precisely achieve this purpose. In this review, we introduce Ginsenoside's mechanism and research significance in achieving the therapeutic effect of breast cancer by changing the functional hallmarks of tumor cells, providing a new perspective for the potential application of Ginsenoside as a therapeutic drug for breast cancer.

Exploring Synergistic Interactions between Natural Compounds and Conventional Chemotherapeutic Drugs in Preclinical Models of Lung Cancer

“…It also potentiated the cytotoxicity effect of T-CD8+ cells by decreasing the PD-L1 expression [138]. Other studies have indicated its potential to improve chemotherapy efficacy and reverse tumor cell resistance in advanced NSCLC [127].…”

Ginsenosides: an immunomodulator for the treatment of colorectal cancer

“…Numerous studies have shown that the ginsenosides affect various metabolic pathways in the body through various physiological activities, mainly inhibiting tumor cell growth and invasion ( Chung and Park, 2016 ; Jin et al, 2021 ), inhibiting tumor microvascular formation ( Zhu et al, 2021 ), promoting tumor cell apoptosis ( Yin et al, 2021 ), etc. Currently, the ginsenosides are widely used in the prevention and treatment of cancers, such as intestinal cancer ( Xing et al, 2000 ; Mancuso and Santangelo, 2017 ; Sun et al, 2022 ; Chen et al, 2023 ; Jiang et al, 2023 ), lung cancer ( Peng et al, 2020 ), breast cancer ( Zhu et al, 2023 ).…”