Abstract
The continuous increase in the number of cancer cases and rates of
cancer-related mortality globally is a highly concerning issue. Drug-induced toxicity,
drastic side effects and chemoresistance associated with conventional
chemotherapeutics warrant the need for novel, efficient, and safer alternative
therapeutic approaches to help combat cancer. Plants are a rich source of bioactive
compounds with potential anti-cancer activity. Extensive research on the
chemotherapeutic efficacy of various plant-derived bioactive compounds is being
carried out across the world. While cancer chemoprevention approaches prevent, delay,
or suppress tumor incidence, chemosensitization approaches employ synthetic or
natural bioactive agents to enhance the efficacy of conventional chemotherapeutic
drugs at lower doses. Numerous studies have documented the efficiency of both of
these approaches in managing different types of cancer. The scope of this chapter
encompasses a comprehensive analysis of the current status and limitations of
conventional chemotherapeutics and the clinical relevance of chemoprevention and
chemosensitization strategies for the effective management of cancer, with a special
emphasis on the potency of some of the major phytochemicals that are extensively
being studied as novel chemopreventives and/or chemosensitizers, globally. Besides,
an overview of the underlying mechanisms of action of these phytochemicals in
regulating the signal transduction events associated with cancer progression, has also
been discussed in this chapter.