Plant-derived small molecule inhibitors as modulators of EMT pathway in cancer chemoprevention

Recent global data have reported a disturbing trend with an estimated rise in cancer burden to 18.1 million incidences and 9.6 million cancer-related deaths in 2018 worldwide. It is increasingly becoming evident that the global battle against cancer cannot be sustained with treatment alone, and thus strategies concurrently engaging both effective interventional and preventive measures are required in the premises of chemoprevention. Small molecule inhibitors are low molecular weight organic molecules that have the ability to enter the cell and influence or otherwise interfere in the biological processes within. Studies both in vitro and in vivo have shown that such molecules derived from plants are effective in impeding cancer growth, migration, and metastasis. These molecules are often abundantly present in fruits, vegetables, and cereals, which are a regular part of the human diet. As reported in the literature, they influence multiple cellular targets that are fundamentally involved in cell division, differentiation, and death. It has been realized that cell differentiation pathways are key components in cancer cell metastasis and grants the process certain aggressive features that are required to evade inherent defenses and acquire resistance. In this chapter, we provide a brief overview of epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) as a core element of metastatic potential in cancer and provide evidence for plant-derived small molecules as natural modulators of EMT.