Crocin, an active ingredient derived from saffron, is one of the herbal components that has recently been considered by researchers. Crocin has been shown to have many anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, and therefore can be used to treat various diseases. It has been shown that Crocin has a positive effect on the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and kidney disease. In addition, the role of this substance in COVID-19 pandemic has been identified. In this review article, we tried to have a comprehensive review of the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of Crocin in different diseases and different tissues. In conclusion, Crocin may be helpful in pathological conditions that are associated with inflammation and oxidative stress.

Hypoxia has an important role in tumor progression via the up-regulation of growth factors and cellular adaptation genes. These changes promote cell survival, proliferation, invasion, metastasis, angiogenesis, and energy metabolism in favor of cancer development. Hypoxia also plays a central role in determining the resistance of tumors to chemotherapy. Hypoxia of the tumor microenvironment provides an opportunity to develop new therapeutic strategies that may selectively induce apoptosis of the hypoxic cancer cells. Melatonin is well known for its role in the regulation of circadian rhythms and seasonal reproduction. Numerous studies have also documented the anti-cancer properties of melatonin, including anti-proliferation, anti-angiogenesis, and apoptosis promotion. In this paper, we hypothesized that melatonin exerts anti-cancer effects by inhibiting hypoxia-induced pathways. Considering this action, co-administration of melatonin in combination with other therapeutic medications might increase the effectiveness of anti-cancer drugs. In this review, we discussed the possible signaling pathways by which melatonin inhibits hypoxia-induced cancer cell survival, invasion, migration, and metabolism, as well as tumor angiogenesis.

The recommended treatment for metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) patients is platinum-based chemotherapy. Although initial response rates are moderate, the vast majority of patients experience a relapse due to chemoresistance and eventually succumb to their disease. Furthermore, platinum-based chemotherapy is toxic and approximately 30% of mUC patients are unfit for chemotherapy. Thus, there is a clear unmet need for novel, more efficacious treatment options in mUC with a safer toxicity profile. To propel the advancement of novel treatment options, we present a summary of key signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms that are known to be involved in bladder cancer tumorigenesis with a focus on promising candidate druggable molecular targets and innovative targeted therapies currently under clinical investigation. Targetable alterations were mainly described in fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) and epidermal growth factor receptor (ErbB) tyrosine kinase receptor (RTK) families, downstream pathways, and chromatin remodelers, which are major bladder cancer driver genes. Drugs targeting the FGFR family members are emerging as personalized treatment options for selected mUC patients with tumor-specific FGFR alterations. The pan-FGFR inhibitor, erdafitinib, was first-in-class to receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2019, while inhibitors of ErbB family members have shown less potential. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a class of targeted therapeutics that deliver cytotoxic drugs in close proximity to cancer cells by targeting RTKs or other transmembrane proteins. Enfortumab vedotin is the first-in-class ADC that was FDA approved for the treatment of locally advanced or mUC in 2019.

Background Breast cancer is currently one of the most common types of cancer in women, and metastasis is the first cause of death in breast cancer patients. The epidermal growth factor (EGF) increases the invasion, growth, and migration of cancer cells. In the present study, melatonin, as a natural hormone, in EGF-induced tumor metastasis, was investigated. Methods First, MDA-MB-231 and MCF7 cells were cultured, and then the effects of melatonin on cell viability were determined by MTT assay. Transwell invasion assay was employed to identify the invasiveness of these breast cancer cell lines. Real-time RT-PCR then investigated the expression of MMP9 and MMP2. Cell proliferation was also determined under EGF and melatonin treatment using Ki67 assessment by flow cytometry. Results The rate of invasion and migration of EGF-treated cells increased in both groups, in which melatonin caused increased invasion by EGF in MCF7 cells. MMP9 and MMP2 expression increased significantly in both cell lines under EGF treatment, and melatonin increased these genes' expression in both cell lines (p <0.05). EGF increased the MMP9 and MMP2 gene expression, and melatonin increases EGF-induced expression(p <0.05). The EGF reduced the expression of the Ki67 protein in the MCF7 cell line, which was negatively affected by Melatonin and EGF. In contrast, along with Melatonin, EGF did not affect the proliferation of the MDA-MB-231 cell line. Conclusions Our results show that melatonin, as a natural compound, can increase the effects of EGF in the proliferation, migration, and invasion of cancer cells at low dosages.