Thymoquinone: A novel treatment option for triple negative breast cancer

Abstract

The most common treatment modes of cancer include chemotherapies along with other modes of treatment. But often resistance is developed and gruels towards the discovery of new modes of treatment for cancer. Natural products are used for ages in the treatment. One such component is thymoquinone (TQ). It has been extensively studied against cancer, especially in treating breast cancer. The review article updates its status on research against breast cancer and triple negative breast cancer. The paper describes various breast cancer (BC) treatment options in combination with TQ or alone such as heat shock 70-kDa protein 6 (HSPA6) situated on human chromosome in inhibition of BC growth, MMP-9 and MMP-2 as biomarkers in BC, use of cancer stem cells in vascular formation in solid tumor by VM (vascular mimicry) via MMP-2 and MT1-MMP genes upregulation, use of exosomes  extracted from adipocyte-derived mesenchymal stem cells, cancer immunotherapy or immuno-oncology where natural killer lymphocyte cells are used to enhance innate immune response against tumors and pathogens, use of (TRAIL) tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand agonists, drugs with synergistic activity, identifying targeted genes IL17RD, and diet having natural molecules that can act potentially against cancer. The article also updates on research associated with TQ in overcoming hindrances related to its poor bioavailability making it an effective clinically acting drug molecule. Recent research indicates that TQ can be a successful candidate to eradicate cancer through its clinical interventions followed by drug design studies.