Melatonin as a Promising Agent for Cancer Treatment: Insights into its Effects on the Wnt/beta-catenin Signaling Pathway.

In recent years, substantial advances have been made in cancer treatment modalities. Yet, within the last three decades, neither cancer incidence nor the cancer-induced mortality rate has changed. Available anti-cancer chemotherapeutics possess remarkably restricted effectiveness and often have severe adverse effects. Hence, the identification of novel pharmaceutical agents that do not exhibit these major disadvantages is imperative. Melatonin, an important endogenous molecule synthesized and secreted by the pineal gland, is a promising chemical agent that has been comprehensively assessed over the last decades for its anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. Melatonin is reportedly a significant inhibitor of cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis. The anti-- cancer potential of melatonin is principally mediated by reversing the up-regulated amounts of different transcription factors, growth factors, inflammatory cytokines, protein kinases, and other oncogenic agents. Also, melatonin often has signifcant inhibitory effects on cancer cell proliferation through either promoting apoptosis or inducing cell cycle arrest. The current review provides an insight into melatonin-induced effects against various human cancers with a particular focus on the regulation of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

An epigenetic modulator with promising therapeutic impacts against gastrointestinal cancers: A mechanistic review on microRNA-195.

Due to their high prevalence, gastrointestinal cancers are one of the key causes of cancer-related death globally. The development of drug-resistant cancer cell populations is a major factor in the high mortality rate, and it affects about half of all cancer patients. Because of advances in our understanding of cancer molecular biology, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have emerged as critical factors in the initiation and development of gastrointestinal cancers. Gene expression can be controlled in several ways by ncRNAs, including through epigenetic changes, interactions between microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and proteins, and the function of lncRNAs as miRNA precursors or pseudogenes. As lncRNAs may be detected in the blood, circulating ncRNAs have emerged as a promising new class of non-invasive cancer biomarkers for use in the detection, staging, and prognosis of gastrointestinal cancers, as well as in the prediction of therapy efficacy. In this review, we assessed the role lncRNAs play in the progression, and maintenance of colorectal cancer, and how they might be used as therapeutic targets in the future.