Recent Advances in Ginsenosides as Potential Therapeutics Against Breast Cancer

The dried root of ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer or Panax quinquefolius L.) is a traditional Chinese medicine widely used to manage cancer symptoms and chemotherapy side effects in Asia. The anti-cancer efficacy of ginseng is attributed mainly to the presence of saponins, which are commonly known as ginsenosides. Ginsenosides were first identified as key active ingredients in Panax ginseng and subsequently found in Panax quinquefolius, both of the same genus. To review the recent advances on anti-cancer effects of ginsenosides against breast cancer, we conducted a literature study of scientific articles published from 2010 through 2018 to date by searching the major databases including Pubmed, SciFinder, Science Direct, Springer, Google Scholar, and CNKI. A total of 50 articles authored in either English or Chinese related to the anti-breast cancer activity of ginsenosides have been reviewed, and the in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies on ginsenosides are summarized. This review focuses on how ginsenosides exert their anti-breast cancer activities through various mechanisms of action such as modulation of cell growth, modulation of the cell cycle, modulation of cell death, inhibition of angiogenesis, inhibition of metastasis, inhibition of multidrug resistance, and cancer immunemodulation. In summary, recent advances in the evaluation of ginsenosides as therapeutic agents against breast cancer support further pre-clinical and clinical studies to treat primary and metastatic breast tumors.