Natural Products in Precision Oncology: Plant-Based Small Molecule Inhibitors of Protein Kinases for Cancer Chemoprevention

Abstract

Striking progress is being made in cancer treatment by using small molecule inhibitors of specific protein kinases that are products of genes recognized as drivers for a specific type of cancer. However, the cost of newly developed drugs is high, and these pharmaceuticals are neither affordable nor accessible in most parts of the world. Accordingly, this narrative review aims to probe how these recent successes in cancer treatment can be reverse-engineered into affordable and accessible approaches for the global community. This challenge is addressed through the lens of cancer chemoprevention, defined as using pharmacological agents of natural or synthetic origin to impede, arrest, or reverse carcinogenesis at any stage in the disease process. In this regard, prevention refers to reducing cancer-related deaths. Recognizing the clinical successes and limitations of protein kinase inhibitor treatment strategies, the disciplines of pharmacognosy and chemotaxonomy are juxtaposed with current efforts to exploit the cancer kinome to describe a conceptual framework for developing a natural product-based approach for precision oncology.

Natural products modulate cell apoptosis: a promising way for treating endometrial cancer

“…NPs are a wide range of bioactive components isolated from natural organisms, including plants, animals, insects, marine organisms ( Manoharan and Perumal, 2022 ), and microorganisms. NPs are attractive sources for developing new medicinal and therapeutic agents ( Thomford et al, 2018 ; Thompson and Lutsiv, 2023 ; Rao et al, 2019 ). For a long time, NPs have been regarded as a rich source of the active ingredients in new drugs.…”

Dietary Oncopharmacognosy as a Crosswalk between Precision Oncology and Precision Nutrition

“…Specifically, we have proposed that the chemical diversity of a food pattern can be predicted by understanding the botanical origin of those foods [65]. More recently, we have used the same botanical approach to illustrate that small-molecule inhibitors, e.g., protein kinase inhibitors, are found in the same botanical families from which human foods are derived and that the nature of the protein kinases inhibited varies by botanical family [66]. At this juncture, we are unaware of the use of this approach either in assessing the activity of effective dietary patterns or as the rationale for formulating precision dietary patterns based on their demonstrated activity in inhibiting oncogenic protein kinases.…”

“…One such drug acts against a checkpoint protein called CTLA-4. So far, the six approved ICIs include (1) PD-1 inhibitors, such as pembrolizumab, nivolumab, and cemiplimab; (2) anti-PD-L1 inhibitors, including atezolizumab, and durvalumab; and (3) ipilimumab, an anti-CTLA-4 inhibitor (66). ICIs are the standard for the treatment of metastatic and unresectable, stage 3 non-small cell lung cancer.…”

Transcriptome and proteome analysis reveals the anti-cancer properties of Hypnea musciformis marine macroalga extract in liver and intestinal cancer cells

“…Thus, it is imperative to develop new and effective methods for cancer treatment. One of the most important strategies for fighting cancer is chemoprevention, defined as the use of natural or synthetic compounds as drugs or through the diet for the prevention or even the reversal of carcinogenesis [ 2 , 3 ]. In recent years, intensive research interest for anticancer compounds found in marine organisms has been performed.…”