Ginsenosides: changing the basic hallmarks of cancer cells to achieve the purpose of treating breast cancer

• Published in: Chinese medicine Vol. 18; no. 1; pp. 1 - 28
• Main Authors: Jiang, Rui-yuan, Fang, Zi-ru, Zhang, Huan-ping, Xu, Jun-yao, Zhu, Jia-yu, Chen, Ke-yu, Wang, Wei, Jiang, Xiao, Wang, Xiao-jia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BioMed Central 25.09.2023; BioMed Central Ltd; BMC
• Subjects: Acupuncture; Angiogenesis; Apoptosis; Bone density; Breast cancer; Cancer; Cancer cells; Cancer therapies; Care and treatment; Cell death; Cell growth; Chemotherapy; Clinical medicine; Complementary & Alternative Medicine; Development and progression; Drugs; Epithelial-mesenchymal transition; Genetic aspects; Ginsenoside; Ginsenosides; Hallmarks of cancer; Health aspects; Herbal medicine; Inflammation; Medical research; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metastasis; Oncology, Experimental; Pathogenesis; Patients; Physiological aspects; Quality of life; Review; Structure-function relationships; Toxicity; Traditional Chinese Medicine; Tumor cells; Tumors; United States > US; Epithelial-mesenchymal transition; Hallmarks of cancer; Cell growth; Breast cancer; Ginsenoside; Apoptosis
• ISSN: 1749-8546; 1749-8546
• DOI: 10.1186/s13020-023-00822-9

In 2021, breast cancer accounted for a substantial proportion of cancer cases and represented the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women worldwide. Although tumor cells originate from normal cells in the human body, they possess distinct biological characteristics resulting from changes in gene structure and function of cancer cells in contrast with normal cells. These distinguishing features, known as hallmarks of cancer cells, differ from those of normal cells. The hallmarks primarily include high metabolic activity, mitochondrial dysfunction, and resistance to cell death. Current evidence suggests that the fundamental hallmarks of tumor cells affect the tissue structure, function, and metabolism of tumor cells and their internal and external environment. Therefore, these fundamental hallmarks of tumor cells enable tumor cells to proliferate, invade and avoid apoptosis. Modifying these hallmarks of tumor cells represents a new and potentially promising approach to tumor treatment. The key to breast cancer treatment lies in identifying the optimal therapeutic agent with minimal toxicity to normal cells, considering the specific types of tumor cells in patients. Some herbal medicines contain active ingredients which can precisely achieve this purpose. In this review, we introduce Ginsenoside's mechanism and research significance in achieving the therapeutic effect of breast cancer by changing the functional hallmarks of tumor cells, providing a new perspective for the potential application of Ginsenoside as a therapeutic drug for breast cancer.