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Profiles of Doctorate Dissertations
Research Relevance and Potential Impact
Leukemia is the most common type of childhood cancer in most parts of the world. The
estimated leukemia-related death in 2008 was around 250,000 globally («Global Cancer Facts
and Figures,» 2011). The overall incidence of leukemia in the developed countries has been
increasing since the last few decades. According to Heath Authority of Abu Dhabi (HAAD),
leukemia is the most common type of cancer among males and the second most common type
of cancer among females in Abu Dhabi.
Phytochemicals (non-nutritive components found in plants) have long been used in the
treatment cancer. Currently, over 60% of the clinically approved anticancer agents are either
directly isolated from natural sources, or are modified from natural lead molecules. In addition,
a large number of promising candidates are presently in clinical trial or in the development
pipeline. Therefore, natural products are moving to be one of the most successful strategy
for the discovery of new medicines. Considering their importance, National Cancer Institute
(USA) has funded and initiated a major screening program for antitumor activity from natural
resources. By conducting a random screening, NCI has determined that more than 1000
different phytochemicals possess potent anticancer activities. Of the 250,000 plant species
available, less than 10% have been tested for biological activities, and among them only a few
have gone through extensive high-throughput screening process. This indicates that there is a
large untapped source of phytochemical-based anticancer agents remaining to be discovered.
Therefore, it is crucial to carry out more rigorous research to identify promising anticancer
candidates from natural sources.
Sanguinarine (SNG) is a benzophenanthridine alkaloid that has been shown to inhibit
proliferation, and induce programmed cell death in various human cancer cell lines. It has been
reported that SNG has a more profound cytotoxic effects against tumor cells when compared to
normal cells. This preferential selectivity of SNG makes it a ‘druggable’ moiety in the treatment
of cancer. This research was focused on elucidating the molecular signaling mechanism of anti-
leukemic potential of SNG.
In summary, there is an immense potential of SNG can serve as an excellent novel antitumor
agent. Therefore, it is worthwhile to systematically investigate the anticancer potential of SNG.
Such investigations can provide a scientific basis for designing targeted animal and human
studies aimed at developing safe and efficacious SNG-based anticancer therapy.