Series: Cancer Etiology, Diagnosis and Treatments
BISAC: MED062000

Cancer poses a major threat to human health and is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Today, we know that metastasis, a multistep process whereby tumor cells spread from the site of origin to distant organs, is responsible for most cancer mortality. In this book, a conceptually new approach to cancer management is presented, by focusing not on the killing of transformed neoplastic cells, but blocking the spread of tumor cells to distant organs, thereby restricting malignant progression and targeting the main cause of cancer-related mortality. Plant-derived flavonoids might be ideal candidates for novel antimetastatic agents, as they are non-toxic and possess the capacity to inhibit multiple steps of metastatic cascade. These polyphenolic phytochemicals act through regulating a number of metastasis-associated signaling cascades in different tumor cells, and also modulate diverse components of tumor microenvironments and attenuate the formation of tumor-specific angiogenesis. Moreover, the combination of certain flavonoids with surgical resection, chemotherapy or radiotherapy may result in the abolishment of the metastasis-promoting effects of these conventional therapeutic modalities, providing novel treatment options for combating cancer in the future. It is expected that the development of flavonoids for antimetastatic drugs and their inclusion in further cancer treatment strategies can substantially improve the prognosis of patients with various types of malignancies in a time when cancer incidence is predicted to continuously increase throughout the world.