Cancer chemoprevention: signaling pathways and strategic approaches

Abstract Although cancer chemopreventive agents have been confirmed to effectively protect high-risk populations from cancer invasion or recurrence, only over ten drugs have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Therefore, screening potent cancer chemopreventive agents is crucial t...

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Main Authors: Junling Ren, Guangli Yan, Le Yang, Ling Kong, Yu Guan, Hui Sun, Chang Liu, Lei Liu, Ying Han, Xijun Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Publishing Group 2025-04-01
Series:Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-025-02167-1
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author Junling Ren
Guangli Yan
Le Yang
Ling Kong
Yu Guan
Hui Sun
Chang Liu
Lei Liu
Ying Han
Xijun Wang
author_facet Junling Ren
Guangli Yan
Le Yang
Ling Kong
Yu Guan
Hui Sun
Chang Liu
Lei Liu
Ying Han
Xijun Wang
author_sort Junling Ren
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Although cancer chemopreventive agents have been confirmed to effectively protect high-risk populations from cancer invasion or recurrence, only over ten drugs have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Therefore, screening potent cancer chemopreventive agents is crucial to reduce the constantly increasing incidence and mortality rate of cancer. Considering the lengthy prevention process, an ideal chemopreventive agent should be nontoxic, inexpensive, and oral. Natural compounds have become a natural treasure reservoir for cancer chemoprevention because of their superior ease of availability, cost-effectiveness, and safety. The benefits of natural compounds as chemopreventive agents in cancer prevention have been confirmed in various studies. In light of this, the present review is intended to fully delineate the entire scope of cancer chemoprevention, and primarily focuses on various aspects of cancer chemoprevention based on natural compounds, specifically focusing on the mechanism of action of natural compounds in cancer prevention, and discussing in detail how they exert cancer prevention effects by affecting classical signaling pathways, immune checkpoints, and gut microbiome. We also introduce novel cancer chemoprevention strategies and summarize the role of natural compounds in improving chemotherapy regimens. Furthermore, we describe strategies for discovering anticancer compounds with low abundance and high activity, revealing the broad prospects of natural compounds in drug discovery for cancer chemoprevention. Moreover, we associate cancer chemoprevention with precision medicine, and discuss the challenges encountered in cancer chemoprevention. Finally, we emphasize the transformative potential of natural compounds in advancing the field of cancer chemoprevention and their ability to introduce more effective and less toxic preventive options for oncology.
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spelling doaj-art-28df461fc8ed407398862d8decf7ce022025-08-20T02:27:06ZengNature Publishing GroupSignal Transduction and Targeted Therapy2059-36352025-04-0110114410.1038/s41392-025-02167-1Cancer chemoprevention: signaling pathways and strategic approachesJunling Ren0Guangli Yan1Le Yang2Ling Kong3Yu Guan4Hui Sun5Chang Liu6Lei Liu7Ying Han8Xijun Wang9State key Laboratory of Integration and Innovation of Classic Formula and Modern Chinese Medicine, National Chinmedomics Research Center, National TCM Key Laboratory of Serum Pharmacochemistry, Metabolomics Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Heilongjiang University of Chinese MedicineState key Laboratory of Integration and Innovation of Classic Formula and Modern Chinese Medicine, National Chinmedomics Research Center, National TCM Key Laboratory of Serum Pharmacochemistry, Metabolomics Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Heilongjiang University of Chinese MedicineState Key Laboratory of Dampness Syndrome, The Second Affiliated Hospital Guangzhou University of Chinese MedicineState key Laboratory of Integration and Innovation of Classic Formula and Modern Chinese Medicine, National Chinmedomics Research Center, National TCM Key Laboratory of Serum Pharmacochemistry, Metabolomics Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Heilongjiang University of Chinese MedicineState key Laboratory of Integration and Innovation of Classic Formula and Modern Chinese Medicine, National Chinmedomics Research Center, National TCM Key Laboratory of Serum Pharmacochemistry, Metabolomics Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Heilongjiang University of Chinese MedicineState key Laboratory of Integration and Innovation of Classic Formula and Modern Chinese Medicine, National Chinmedomics Research Center, National TCM Key Laboratory of Serum Pharmacochemistry, Metabolomics Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Heilongjiang University of Chinese MedicineState key Laboratory of Integration and Innovation of Classic Formula and Modern Chinese Medicine, National Chinmedomics Research Center, National TCM Key Laboratory of Serum Pharmacochemistry, Metabolomics Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Heilongjiang University of Chinese MedicineState key Laboratory of Integration and Innovation of Classic Formula and Modern Chinese Medicine, National Chinmedomics Research Center, National TCM Key Laboratory of Serum Pharmacochemistry, Metabolomics Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Heilongjiang University of Chinese MedicineState key Laboratory of Integration and Innovation of Classic Formula and Modern Chinese Medicine, National Chinmedomics Research Center, National TCM Key Laboratory of Serum Pharmacochemistry, Metabolomics Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Heilongjiang University of Chinese MedicineState key Laboratory of Integration and Innovation of Classic Formula and Modern Chinese Medicine, National Chinmedomics Research Center, National TCM Key Laboratory of Serum Pharmacochemistry, Metabolomics Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Heilongjiang University of Chinese MedicineAbstract Although cancer chemopreventive agents have been confirmed to effectively protect high-risk populations from cancer invasion or recurrence, only over ten drugs have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Therefore, screening potent cancer chemopreventive agents is crucial to reduce the constantly increasing incidence and mortality rate of cancer. Considering the lengthy prevention process, an ideal chemopreventive agent should be nontoxic, inexpensive, and oral. Natural compounds have become a natural treasure reservoir for cancer chemoprevention because of their superior ease of availability, cost-effectiveness, and safety. The benefits of natural compounds as chemopreventive agents in cancer prevention have been confirmed in various studies. In light of this, the present review is intended to fully delineate the entire scope of cancer chemoprevention, and primarily focuses on various aspects of cancer chemoprevention based on natural compounds, specifically focusing on the mechanism of action of natural compounds in cancer prevention, and discussing in detail how they exert cancer prevention effects by affecting classical signaling pathways, immune checkpoints, and gut microbiome. We also introduce novel cancer chemoprevention strategies and summarize the role of natural compounds in improving chemotherapy regimens. Furthermore, we describe strategies for discovering anticancer compounds with low abundance and high activity, revealing the broad prospects of natural compounds in drug discovery for cancer chemoprevention. Moreover, we associate cancer chemoprevention with precision medicine, and discuss the challenges encountered in cancer chemoprevention. Finally, we emphasize the transformative potential of natural compounds in advancing the field of cancer chemoprevention and their ability to introduce more effective and less toxic preventive options for oncology.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-025-02167-1
spellingShingle Junling Ren
Guangli Yan
Le Yang
Ling Kong
Yu Guan
Hui Sun
Chang Liu
Lei Liu
Ying Han
Xijun Wang
Cancer chemoprevention: signaling pathways and strategic approaches
Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy
title Cancer chemoprevention: signaling pathways and strategic approaches
title_full Cancer chemoprevention: signaling pathways and strategic approaches
title_fullStr Cancer chemoprevention: signaling pathways and strategic approaches
title_full_unstemmed Cancer chemoprevention: signaling pathways and strategic approaches
title_short Cancer chemoprevention: signaling pathways and strategic approaches
title_sort cancer chemoprevention signaling pathways and strategic approaches
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-025-02167-1
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