Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester Is a Potential Therapeutic Agent for Oral Cancer

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Ying-Yu Kuo³  Wai-Tim Jim⁴  Liang-Cheng Su³  Chi-Jung Chung⁶  Ching-Yu Lin³  Chieh Huo³  Jen-Chih Tseng³  Shih-Han Huang³  Chih-Jen Lai³  Bo-Chih Chen³  Bi-Juan Wang³  Tzu-Min Chan⁵  Hui-Ping Lin²  Wun-Shaing Wayne Chang²  Chuang-Rung Chang¹  Chih-Pin Chuu³ 

[1] Institute of Biotechnology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu City 30013, Taiwan; E-Mail:;National Institute of Cancer Research, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli 35053, Taiwan; E-Mails:;Institute of Cellular and System Medicine, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli 35053, Taiwan; E-Mails:;Department of Pediatrics, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei City 10449, Taiwan; E-Mail:;Department of Medical Education and Research, China Medical University Beigang Hospital, Yunlin County 65152, Taiwan; E-Mail:;Department of Health Risk Management, China Medical University, Taichung City 40402, Taiwan; E-Mail:

关键词: oral cancer;    caffeic acid phenethyl ester;    Akt;    MMP;    NF-κB;    cell proliferation;    cell cycle arrest;    apoptosis;    metastasis;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms160510748

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Head and neck cancers, which affect 650,000 people and cause 350,000 deaths per year, is the sixth leading cancer by cancer incidence and eighth by cancer-related death worldwide. Oral cancer is the most common type of head and neck cancer. More than 90% of oral cancers are oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The overall five-year survival rate of OSCC patients is approximately 63%, which is due to the low response rate to current therapeutic drugs. In this review we discuss the possibility of using caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) as an alternative treatment for oral cancer. CAPE is a strong antioxidant extracted from honeybee hive propolis. Recent studies indicate that CAPE treatment can effectively suppress the proliferation, survival, and metastasis of oral cancer cells. CAPE treatment inhibits Akt signaling, cell cycle regulatory proteins, NF-κB function, as well as activity of matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). Therefore, CAPE treatment induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in oral cancer cells. According to the evidence that aberrations in the EGFR/phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) signaling, NF-κB function, COX-2 activity, and MMPs activity are frequently found in oral cancers, and that the phosphorylation of Akt, EGFR, and COX-2 correlates to oral cancer patient survival and clinical progression, we believe that CAPE treatment will be useful for treatment of advanced oral cancer patients.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.