कैंसर विज्ञान एवं चिकित्सा

Haruan Fish Extract as Potential Agent for Cancer Therapy

Abstract

I Buhari, AH Roslida, M Taufik Hidayat and AM Mat Jais

Cancer occurs as a result of contributions from environmental and genetic factors. These factors lead to disturbance in genomic composition of a cell. The change in the cellular genome distorts the normal physiological activities of the cells like, cell division, cell differentiation, angiogenesis and cell migration to cause cancer. Current anti-cancer drugs cause side effects to patients. Natural products from animals, plants and microorganism offer a lot of anticancer drugs due to the effectiveness of their bioactive compounds. Haruan fish extract contains eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and decosahexaenoic acid (DHA) collectively called omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Several researchers reported that the fatty acids prevent the development of breast, colon, pancreatic and prostate cancers. However, the anti-cancer effects of Haruan fish extract has not been established. Considering the side effects cause by anti-cancer drugs as well as the drug resistance nature of cancer cells, it is necessary to search for effective drugs from natural products that can cure cancer alone or incombination with other chemotherapeutic agents. Therefore, in this review, we analysed and suggest how anti-cancer effects of the Haruan fish extract could be explored using cell culture, animal models and human epidemiological studies.