Melittin and Breast Cancer: A Brief Review of the Evidence

Bee venom is commonly used for treating ailment including pain and tumor. There are various investigations concerning melittin in terms of tumors treatment or antitumor activity. Melittin consists of 26 amino acid residues, mostly with hydrophobic or at least uncharged side chains, except for the C-terminal region, and the principal function of melittin as a component of bee venom is to cause pain and destruction of the tissue of intruders that threaten a beehive. There are various shreds of evidence regarding the effect of melittin on cancer or tumor cells. The aim of this review study was to investigate the effects of melittin on breast cancer. Studies with inclusion criteria from 2016 were included in this study. The second reason for death in women is breast cancer. The development of breast cancer is a multi-step process involving multiple cell types, and its prevention remains challenging in the world. By various biochemical and molecular mechanisms, Melittin could lead to a reduction of tumor size, prevention of metastasis, and in some cases cancer treatment. It was particularly significant cytotoxicity on damaging breast cancer cells. Some pieces of evidence also suggested that for diminishing the hemolytic and allergic reactions and fulfilling the efficacy of treatment outcome combine melittin with nanoparticles or chemotherapeutic agents. Melittin has positive effects on several types of cancer, such as renal, lung, liver, prostate, bladder, breast, thyroid, and melanoma. However, it should not be underestimated that most studies are in vitro and in vivo; therefore, more randomized control trials are required.