Active Ingredients of Traditional Chinese Medicine Regulate Ferroptosis to Inhibit Breast Cancer： A Review
10.13422/j.cnki.syfjx.20251129
- VernacularTitle:中药活性成分调控铁死亡抗乳腺癌的研究进展
- Author:
Yan LIU
1
;
Zhenyao YANG
2
;
Chengzhi WANG
2
;
Jiuxian LI
1
Author Information
1. The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine， Zhengzhou 450000，China
2. The Second Clinical Medical School， Henan University of Chinese Medicine， Zhengzhou 450002，China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
breast cancer;
ferroptosis;
active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine;
mechanism research
- From:
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae
2026;32(4):299-306
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Breast cancer （BC）， a common malignant tumor in women， is characterized by high incidence and mortality rates， posing a serious threat to women's life and health. Currently， the commonly used treatments for BC include surgery， radiotherapy， chemotherapy， molecular targeted therapy， and endocrine therapy. Although radiotherapy and chemotherapy can effectively kill tumor cells and inhibit the proliferation and differentiation of tumor cells， they can induce adverse reactions such as hematopoietic dysfunction and impaired immune function. The other treatment methods also have problems such as drug resistance， high recurrence rates， reduced quality of life， and poor clinical efficacy. Therefore， it is urgent to explore new drugs with better efficacy and lower toxicity. Ferroptosis is a form of iron-dependent， non-apoptotic programmed cell death triggered by lipid peroxidation. In recent years， ferroptosis has become a hot topic in the field of cancer treatment and has been gradually proven to effectively inhibit the proliferation and metastasis of BC cells， reduce the drug resistance of BC to chemotherapy drugs， and enhance the sensitivity of BC to radiotherapy. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， with multiple components， multiple targets， and mild side effects， is widely used in the treatment of BC. A large number of studies have shown that active ingredients of TCM， such as saponins， flavonoids， terpenoids， phenols， and polysaccharides， can inhibit the proliferation and metastasis of BC cells by modulating ferroptosis-related pathways. These include iron metabolism， lipid metabolism， cystine/glutamate antiporter system Xc-/glutathione/glutathione peroxidase 4， Specifically， these ingredients elevate the levels of lipid peroxidation， reactive oxygen species， malondialdehyde， and Fe2+ in BC cells， thereby inducing ferroptosis-mediated suppression of tumor progression. This article reviews the relevant literature at home and abroad in recent years， summarizes the mechanisms of ferroptosis in regulating BC and the research progress in the active components of TCM targeting ferroptosis in the intervention of BC， aiming to provide ideas for the development of new drugs for the treatment of BC.
