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Review
. 2017 Jul 3;18(7):1403.
doi: 10.3390/ijms18071403.

Plant Lectins as Medical Tools against Digestive System Cancers

Laura Elena Estrada-Martínez  1 , Ulisses Moreno-Celis  2 , Ricardo Cervantes-Jiménez  3 , Roberto Augusto Ferriz-Martínez  4 , Alejandro Blanco-Labra  5 , Teresa García-Gasca  6
Affiliations
Review

Plant Lectins as Medical Tools against Digestive System Cancers

Laura Elena Estrada-Martínez et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Digestive system cancers-those of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon-rectum, liver, and pancreas-are highly related to genetics and lifestyle. Most are considered highly mortal due to the frequency of late diagnosis, usually in advanced stages, caused by the absence of symptoms or masked by other pathologies. Different tools are being investigated in the search of a more precise diagnosis and treatment. Plant lectins have been studied because of their ability to recognize and bind to carbohydrates, exerting a variety of biological activities on animal cells, including anticancer activities. The present report integrates existing information on the activity of plant lectins on various types of digestive system cancers, and surveys the current state of research into their properties for diagnosis and selective treatment.

Keywords: cancer; diagnosis tools; digestive system; plant lectins; therapeutic tools.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The founding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analysis, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

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