Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jun 26, 2020; 8(12): 2425-2437
Published online Jun 26, 2020. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i12.2425
Mechanisms of resveratrol in the prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal cancer
Li-Yan Wang, Shan Zhao, Guo-Jun Lv, Xiao-Jun Ma, Jian-Bin Zhang
Li-Yan Wang, Department of Pharmacy, the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116011, Liaoning Province, China
Shan Zhao, Guo-Jun Lv, Xiao-Jun Ma, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, Liaoning Province, China
Jian-Bin Zhang, College of Pharmacy, Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116044, Liaoning Province, China
Author contributions: Wang LY and Zhao S conceptualized the idea; Wang LY wrote the manuscript; Zhang JB made the table; Zhao S, Lv GJ, and Ma XJ revised the manuscript.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 21576254; National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81903560; and Dalian Young Star of Science and Technology Project, No. 2018RQ81.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors have no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Li-Yan Wang, MA, Pharmacist, Department of Pharmacy, the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, 222 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116011, Liaoning Province, China. wangliyan3626@126.com
Received: December 31, 2019
Peer-review started: December 31, 2019
First decision: April 1, 2020
Revised: May 20, 2020
Accepted: May 23, 2020
Article in press: May 23, 2020
Published online: June 26, 2020
Abstract

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. According to the Global Cancer Statistics, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality, closely followed by gastric cancer (GC). Environmental, dietary, and lifestyle factors including cigarette smoking, alcohol intake, and genetics are the most important risk factors for GI cancer. Furthermore, infections caused by Helicobacter pylori are a major cause of GC initiation. Despite improvements in conventional therapies, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, the length or quality of life of patients with advanced GI cancer is still poor because of delayed diagnosis, recurrence and side effect. Resveratrol (3, 4, 5-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene; Res), a natural polyphenolic compound, reportedly has various pharmacologic functions including anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and cardioprotective functions. Many studies have demonstrated that Res also exerts a chemopreventive effect on GI cancer. Research investigating the anti-cancer mechanism of Res for the prevention and treatment of GI cancer has implicated multiple pathways including oxidative stress, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. Therefore, this paper provides a review of the function and molecular mechanisms of Res in the prevention and treatment of GI cancer.

Keywords: Gastrointestinal cancer, Resveratrol, Function, Molecular mechanisms, Prevention, Treatment

Core tip: Gastrointestinal (GI) cancer is a serious disease that affects people late in their lives and represents a global health burden. Despite improvements in conventional therapies, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, the length or quality of life of patients with advanced GI cancer is still poor. Many studies have demonstrated that resveratrol also exerts a chemopreventive effect on GI cancer. In this review, we describe the function and molecular mechanisms of resveratrol in the prevention and treatment of GI cancer.