Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025;32(5):907-922.
doi: 10.2174/0109298673251713231019091910.

The Role of Genistein and its Derivatives in Ovarian Cancer: New Perspectives for Molecular Mechanisms and Clinical Applications

Shahla Chaichian  1 , Banafsheh Nikfar  2 , Sepideh Arbabi Bidgoli  2   3 , Bahram Moazzami  2
Affiliations
Review

The Role of Genistein and its Derivatives in Ovarian Cancer: New Perspectives for Molecular Mechanisms and Clinical Applications

Shahla Chaichian et al. Curr Med Chem. 2025.

Abstract

Genistein (GEN) is a member of the polyphenol family, known chiefly for its effects on metabolic diseases and gynecological disorders. GEN has anti-cancer properties by inhibiting tumor proliferation, tumor metastasis, invasion, migration, and inducing apoptosis. Ovarian cancer (OC) is ranked 7th among the most common gynecological cancers. Despite its low incidence compared to other cancers, it is the first cause of death among gynecologic malignancies. Surgery and chemotherapy are the main options for treating this fatal cancer. Therefore, further investigations into GEN may aid in the discovery of novel therapeutics for preventing and/or treating OC. In this review, we aim to investigate the role of GEN in ovarian cancer. We investigate the anti-tumor effects of GEN on OC cell lines, including inducing apoptosis, suppressing tumor growth, and inhibiting metastasis. Also, we review the studies investigating GEN's roles as an adjuvant in therapeutic regimens with other chemotherapeutic agents (e.g., cisplatin, quercetin, and gemcitabine).

Keywords: Genistein; apoptosis; endometriosis; fatty acids.; gynecological cancers; ovarian cancer.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Jaiswal N.; Akhtar J.; Singh S.P.; Ahsan F.; An overview on genistein and its various formulations. Drug Res (Stuttg) 2019,69(6),305-313 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mukund V.; Mukund D.; Sharma V.; Mannarapu M.; Alam A.; Genistein: Its role in metabolic diseases and cancer. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol 2017,119,13-22 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mukund V.; Genistein: Its role in breast cancer growth and metastasis. Curr Drug Metab 2020,21(1),6-10 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Fu Z.; Cao X.; Liu L.; Cao X.; Cui Y.; Li X.; Quan M.; Ren K.; Chen A.; Xu C.; Qiu Y.; Chen X.; Wang Z.; Cao J.; Genistein inhibits lung cancer cell stem-like characteristics by modulating MnSOD and FoxM1 expression. Oncol Lett 2020,20(3),2506-2515 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Zhang Q.; Bao J.; Yang J.; Genistein-triggered anticancer activity against liver cancer cell line HepG2 involves ROS generation, mitochondrial apoptosis, G2/M cell cycle arrest and inhibition of cell migrationand inhibition of cell migration. Arch Med Sci 2019,15(4),1001-1009 - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources