Affiliations: National Institute and Faculty of Nutrition Sciences
and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran,
Iran
Note: [] Correspondence: Hamid Zand, Department of Basic Medical
Sciences, Institute and Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology,
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box: 19395-4741, Tehran,
Iran. Tel.: +98 21 22357484; Fax: +98 21 22360657; E-mail:
hamid_zand@sbmu.ac.ir
Abstract: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a cancer of white blood cells.
ALL occurs in people of all ages but most commonly in children. Improvement in
the survival of children suffering from ALL over past 35 years is one of the
great success stories of cancer treatment. However, increased survival of ALL
patients stimulates the need for new therapeutic protocols in order to diminish
the late side effects of ALL-therapy in children. Certain dietary compounds may
increase cancer cells' sensitivity to drugs and radiation, and decrease the
adverse effects of therapeutic protocols. Flavonoids are polyphenolic compounds which are categorized
according to their chemical structure as flavonols, flavones, flavanones,
isoflavones, catechins, anthocyanidins and chalcones. Numerous polyphenolic
compounds showed antiproliferative and cytotoxic effects and more specifically
proapoptotic activities in several cancer cells lines and in animal tumor
models. This review covers recent literature and summarizes the chemopreventive
potential of flavonoids and molecular mechanisms of apoptosis induced by
flavonoids in lymphoblastic leukemia. Several types of flavonoids, either by
themselves or in combination with chemotherapeutic agents, may be effective in
ALL prevention and treatment. Flavonoids recruit several proapoptotic signaling
routes and inhibit antiapoptotic pathways in order to exert their
chemopreventive properties.
