Integrative cancer therapies
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Chemotherapy- and radiotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting are the most common, intractable and unpleasant side effects in patients undergoing treatment for cancer. 5-Hydroxytryptamine-3 (5-HT3) receptor antagonists plus dexamethasone have significantly improved the control of acute nausea and vomiting, but delayed nausea and vomiting remains a significant clinical problem. Combined neurokinin-1 receptor antagonists with 5-HT3 antagonists and steroids are observed to be better in the control of both acute and delayed emesis. However, the use of these antiemetics is observed to possess inherent side effects. ⋯ Of these, ginger has also been evaluated for its efficacy in humans and the results have been contradictory. The current review for the first time summarizes the results related to these properties. An attempt is also made to address the lacunae in these published studies and to emphasize aspects that need further investigations for these plants to be of use in clinics in the future.
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Systems modeling provides an integrated framework to capture and analyze diverse and multidisciplinary data in a standardized manner. The authors present the Integrative Oncology Systems Model (IOSM) to help assess the impact of behavior modification and various therapeutic interventions on cancer development and progression and the resultant effect on survival and quality of life outcomes.
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Nomilin is a triterpenoid present in common edible citrus fruits with putative anticancer properties. In this study, the authors investigated the antimetastatic potential of nomilin and its possible mechanism of action. Metastasis was induced in C57BL/6 mice through the lateral tail vein using highly metastatic B16F-10 melanoma cells. ⋯ Nomilin treatment also exhibited a downregulated Bcl-2 and cyclin-D1 expression and upregulated p53, Bax, caspase-9, caspase-3, p21, and p27 gene expression in B16F-10 cells. Proinflammatory cytokine production and gene expression were found to be downregulated in nomilin-treated cells. The study also reveals that nomilin could inhibit the activation and nuclear translocation of antiapoptotic transcription factors such as nuclear factor (NF)-κB, CREB, and ATF-2 in B16F-10 cells.