The existence of malignant
tumors has been a threat to human life, health, and safety. Although the rapid development of
radiotherapy,
drug therapy, surgery, and local
therapy has improved the quality of life of
tumor patients, there are still some risks. Natural compounds are widely used in
cancer because they are easy to obtain, have a good curative effects and have no obvious side effects, and play a vital role in the prevention and treatment of various
cancers. Phenolic,
flavonoids,
terpenoids,
alkaloids, and other natural components of
traditional Chinese medicine have certain anti-
tumor activities, which can promote apoptosis, anti-proliferation, anti-
metastasis, inhibit angiogenesis, change the morphology of
cancer cells and regulate immune function, etc., and have positive effects on
breast cancer,
liver cancer,
lung cancer,
gastric cancer,
rectal cancer and so on. To better understand the effects of natural compounds on
cancer, this paper screened out four important pathways closely related to
cancer, including cell death and immunogenic cell death, immune cells in the tumor microenvironment,
inflammation and related pathways and
tumor metastasis, and systematically elaborated the effects of natural compounds on
cancer.