Thymoquinone: A Promising Therapeutic Agent for the Treatment of Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers and is responsible for approximately one million deaths each year. The current standard of care is surgical resection of the lesion and chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). However, of concern is the increasing incidence in an increasingly younger patient population and the ability of CRC cells to develop resistance to 5-FU. In this review, we discuss the effects of thymoquinone (TQ), one of the main bioactive components of Nigella sativa seeds, on CRC, with a particular focus on the use of TQ in combination therapy with other chemotherapeutic agents. TQ exhibits anti-CRC activity by inducing a proapoptotic effect and inhibiting proliferation, primarily through its effect on the regulation of signaling pathways crucial for tumor progression and oxidative stress. TQ can be used synergistically with chemotherapeutic agents to enhance their anticancer effects and to influence the expression of signaling pathways and other genes important in cancer development. These data appear to be most relevant for co-treatment with 5-FU. We believe that TQ is a suitable candidate for consideration in the chemoprevention and adjuvant therapy for CRC, but further studies, including clinical trials, are needed to confirm its safety and efficacy in the treatment of cancer.

Keywords: 5-FU resistance; Nigella sativa; adjuvant therapy; anticancer therapy; colorectal cancer; thymoquinone.

Figure 1

Risk factors and mutations involved in the development of CRC. The figure was partly generated using Servier Medical Art, provided by Servier and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 unported license.

Figure 2

Overview of the mechanisms of action of thymoquinone in antitumor therapy.

Figure 3

Selected mechanisms of action of thymoquinone against colorectal cancer cells and possible therapeutic targets.