POTENTIAL NATURAL SKIN CANCER (MELANOMA) TREATMENTS USING FLAVONOIDS: BIOTHERAPEUTIC APPROACHES

There are a variety of treatment options for melanoma, but the high resistance of tumor cells to conventional therapies makes it necessary to develop new anticancer agents that will have decline toxic effects and greater effectiveness, thereby providing an incentive for the development of new treatments that can be used alone or in combination with other drugs. The flavonoids are phenolic phytoconstituents that have been shown to be efficacious in preventing a wide series of cancers, both in-vitro assays and in animal models, including in melanoma cells. Flavonoids, like naringenin, quercetin and apigenin, among others, have gained significant attention in recent years due to the fact that they possess a wide range of properties, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antiviral properties. However, its anti-carcinogenic effect, which affects the control of cell proliferation and cell-cycle sequence, induction of apoptosis, and suppression of tumor angiogenesis, may be the most significant. Although flavonoids have exhibited promising results both in-vitro as well as in-vivo, there are some concerns regarding their application to biological environments, such as their low solubility in water, their low stability and their low oral bioavailability in biological environments. Some of the limitations of flavonoids’ application may be overcome by nanotechnology in which encapsulated antitumor drugs are used as nano carriers. This approach increase the bioavailability, solubility, stability, and allowing for a controlled and prolonged release, resulting in a targeted response, inhibiting the side effects and improving the effectiveness of flavonoids.