The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 277 No 7416 p289-290
2 September 2006

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Keeping cancer at bay the natural way

Jonathan Hill, Zoey Hanstock and Brian Lockwood discuss nutraceuticals that appear promising in the prevention and treatment of cancer

SUMMARY

The World Health Organization estimates there are more than 10 million cancer cases around the world each year. The increase in cancer incidence is thought to be caused in part by the increase in life expectancy and lifestyle factors. The American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund give a figure of 30–40 per cent for the proportion of cancers that can be prevented by lifestyle modification, including diet.

Hence, the role of nutraceutical supplementation and dietary factors is more relevant than ever. Much research has, therefore, been carried out into nutraceuticals and their role in cancer prevention. They may, in the future, be used to enhance current conventional drug regimens, ameliorate some of the toxic side effects associated with chemotherapy and prevent cancer incidence in the first place.

This review considers seven nutraceuticals: lycopene, flaxseed, polyunsaturated fatty acids, coenzyme Q10, melatonin, conjugated linoleic acid and resveratrol. All of these are either endogenous in the body, available in the diet or both; it is thus interesting that these natural compounds exhibit anticancer effects.

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