Ginsenosides as Emerging Adjuvants for Immunotherapy in Gastrointestinal Cancers

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers cause significant mortality, with limited response to conventional treatments.
• Immune checkpoint inhibitors show restricted efficacy in GI malignancies due to "cold" tumor microenvironments.
• There is a need for adjuvant agents to enhance antitumor immunity and immunotherapy response.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the potential of ginseng-derived compounds (ginsenosides and polysaccharides) as adjuvant therapy for GI cancers.
• To review the documented antitumor and immunomodulatory activities of ginseng.
• To discuss the role of ginseng in drug delivery and microenvironment modulation for cancer treatment.

Main Methods:

• Review of experimental studies on ginseng in liver, colorectal, gastric, and esophageal cancer models.
• Analysis of clinical observations from traditional Chinese medicine regarding ginseng use.
• Exploration of ginseng's effects on apoptosis, DNA damage, angiogenesis, and immune signaling pathways.

Main Results:

• Ginsenosides demonstrate apoptosis induction, DNA damage modulation, anti-angiogenesis, and immune signaling regulation in preclinical cancer models.
• Ginseng-derived nanoparticles and liposomal formulations show promise in drug delivery and microenvironment remodeling.
• Clinical use suggests ginseng may alleviate cancer-related fatigue and improve tolerance to chemoradiotherapy.

Conclusions:

• Ginseng possesses antitumor and immunomodulatory properties relevant to GI cancer adjuvant therapy.
• Further investigation is required to identify pharmacological targets, optimal combinations, and predictive biomarkers for ginsenosides in immunotherapy.
• Integrating advanced technologies like systems pharmacology and single-cell analysis is crucial for clarifying ginseng's role in GI cancer immunotherapy.