Estudios científicos
Resveratrol in the chemoprevention and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Abstract:
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers and lethal diseases in the world. Although the majority of HCC cases occur in developing countries of Asia and Africa, the prevalence of liver cancer has risen considerably in Japan, Western Europe as well as the United States. HCC most commonly develops in patients with chronic liver disease, the etiology of which includes viral hepatitis (B and C), alcohol, obesity, iron overload and dietary carcinogens, including aflatoxins and nitrosamines. The current treatment modalities, including surgical resection and liver transplantation, have been found to be mostly ineffective. Hence, there is an obvious critical need to develop alternative strategies for the chemoprevention and treatment of HCC. Oxidative stress as well as inflammation has been implicated in the development and progression of hepatic neoplasia. Using naturally occurring phytochemicals and dietary compounds endowed with potent antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties is a novel approach to prevent and control HCC. One such compound, resveratrol, present in grapes, berries, peanuts as well as red wine, has emerged as a promising molecule that inhibits carcinogenesis with a pleiotropic mode of action. This review examines the current knowledge on mechanism-based in vitro and in vivo studies on the chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic potential of resveratrol in liver cancer. Pre-clinical and clinical toxicity studies as well as pharmacokinetic data of resveratrol have also been highlighted in this review. Future directions and challenges involved in the use of resveratrol for the prevention and treatment of HCC are also discussed. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Comentarios divulgativos:
El hepatocarcinoma celular (HCC) es uno de los tipos de cáncer más corrientes y además de los que presentan un mayor índice de letalidad. Aunque la mayoría de las incidencias aparecen en Asia y África la prevalencia de este tipo de cáncer es considerable en Japón. Los tratamientos actuales incluyen cirugía y transplante de hígado aunque han demostrado ser inefectivos. Por lo tanto es obvio que se necesita desarrollar una estrategia alternativa para el tratamiento quimiopreventivo del HCC. Un compuesto, el resveratrol, el cual se encuentra en uvas, bayas y vino tinto ha mostrado ser una molécula prometedora en inhibir la carcinogénesis.En esta revisión se analiza el conocimiento actual del mecanismo de acción basado estudios in-vivo e in-vitro sobre el potencial quimiopreventivo en el cáncer de hígado.
