Potential mechanisms of quercetin in cancer prevention: focus on cellular and molecular targets

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Molecular Biology
• Oncology

Background:

• Cancer remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide, with current treatments often incurring high costs and severe side effects.
• Natural bioactive compounds are being explored as alternative or complementary therapies to mitigate these challenges.
• Quercetin, a plant-derived flavonoid, has emerged as a compound with significant anti-cancer potential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comprehensively review the anti-cancer mechanisms of quercetin.
• To summarize how quercetin regulates key cancer-related signaling pathways.
• To discuss quercetin's modulatory role in oncogenic and tumor suppressor non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), including microRNAs (miRNAs).

Main Methods:

• Literature review of studies investigating quercetin's anti-cancer properties.
• Analysis of research detailing quercetin's effects on cellular signaling pathways.
• Examination of studies on quercetin's impact on ncRNA and miRNA expression in cancer cells.

Main Results:

• Quercetin inhibits tumor proliferation, invasion, and metastasis.
• Quercetin modulates critical cancer signaling pathways, including apoptotic, p53, NF-κB, MAPK, JAK/STAT, PI3K/AKT, and Wnt/β-catenin.
• Quercetin influences the expression of oncogenic and tumor suppressor ncRNAs and miRNAs.

Conclusions:

• Quercetin exhibits potent anti-cancer activities through the regulation of multiple cellular signaling pathways.
• Quercetin's ability to modulate ncRNAs and miRNAs further contributes to its anti-cancer effects.
• Understanding these mechanisms provides a basis for developing quercetin-based strategies for cancer prevention and management.