Breast cancer is the second leading contributor to the age-standardized mortality rate, for both sexes and all ages worldwide. In Europe and the United States, it is the second leading cause of mortality, with an incidence rate of about 2.6 million cases per year.
Noscapine, a well-known
alkaloid used as a
cough suppressant, demonstrated anti-
tumor effects by triggering apoptosis in various
cancer cell lines and has the potential to become another ally against breast, ovarian, colon, and
gastric cancer, among other types of
malignancy. Apoptosis plays a crucial role in the treatment of
cancer.
Noscapine affected BAX, CASP8, CASP9, NFKBIA, and RELA gene and
protein expression in the MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. Gene expression was higher in
tumor than in normal tissue, including the BAX expression levels in lung, ovary, endometrium, colon, stomach, and
glioblastoma patients; BCL2L1 expression in endometrium, colon, and stomach patients; CASP8 gene expression levels in lung, endometrium, colon, stomach, and
glioblastoma patients; RELA in colon, stomach, and
glioblastoma patients; and NFKBIA in
glioblastoma patients. It can be concluded that
noscapine affected genes and
proteins related to apoptosis in
cancer cell lines and several types of
cancer patients.