Skip to main content

REVIEW article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Pharmacology of Anti-Cancer Drugs
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1478170

Emerging functions of lycopene in the management of digestive premalignant lesions

Provisionally accepted
Kerui Gan Kerui Gan 1*Wenjin Shi Wenjin Shi 1*Xiangfei Liu Xiangfei Liu 1*Wei Ding Wei Ding 1*Yan Qiu Yan Qiu 2*Xiaobo Luo Xiaobo Luo 1*
  • 1 State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Research Unit of Oral Carcinogenesis and Management, West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
  • 2 Department of Pathology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Common digestive precancerous lesions, including oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs), gastric ulcers and colorectal adenoma, harbor high risk of cancerous transformation. Early intervention of these lesions is significant to prevent carcinogenesis and improve patients' prognosis. Lycopene, a carotenoid predominantly accumulated in tomatoes, is clinically recommended with its cis structure; as lycopene harbors the most potent antioxidative effects among carotenoids, its chemopreventive effects on the premalignant lesions is noted. Despite several reviews have assessed lycopene's efficacy for OPMDs, emerging studies have reported varying efficacy for digestive precancerous lesion with no comprehensive summary. Therefore, this review initially evaluates the efficacy and underlying mechanisms of lycopene for management of digestive precancerous lesions. According to the included studies, lycopene may show high promise in the management of digestive precancerous lesions, such as relieving mouth opening and burning sensation of oral submucous fibrosis (OSF), presenting potentially equivalent efficacy on managing oral lichen planus (OLP) as steroids and alleviating gastrointestinal precancers' symptoms, meanwhile lowering colon cancer risk. Moreover, its mechanisms for managing digestive precancerous lesions are concretely summarized, including antioxidative stress effects, anti-inflammatory response and regulation of cell proliferation and apoptosis, especially its modifications on TLR4/TRIF/NF-κB signaling pathway and p53-dependent cell cycle control and apoptosis. More studies are warranted to confirm its long-term efficacy and preventive role against malignant transformation of digestive precancerous lesions as evidence is insufficient.

    Keywords: LYCOPENE, digestive precancerous lesions, Oxidative Stress, Inflammatory Response, Chemoprevention

    Received: 09 Aug 2024; Accepted: 07 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Gan, Shi, Liu, Ding, Qiu and Luo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Kerui Gan, State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Research Unit of Oral Carcinogenesis and Management, West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
    Wenjin Shi, State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Research Unit of Oral Carcinogenesis and Management, West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
    Xiangfei Liu, State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Research Unit of Oral Carcinogenesis and Management, West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
    Wei Ding, State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Research Unit of Oral Carcinogenesis and Management, West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
    Yan Qiu, Department of Pathology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
    Xiaobo Luo, State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Research Unit of Oral Carcinogenesis and Management, West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.