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Artemisinin in Cancer Therapy

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Artemisia annua - Pharmacology and Biotechnology

Abstract

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, with approximately 12.7 million new cases and 7.6 million deaths annually (http://globocan.iarc.fr/factsheets/cancers/all.asp). Conventional cancer therapies, such as chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy, have limited efficiency, high toxicity and are often associated with the development of drug resistance. In this context, plants remain an important source of anti-cancer drugs, as exemplified by paclitaxel, vincristine, vinorelbine, teniposide or camptothecin. In effect, 42 % of all approved cancer drugs are natural products or agents derived from natural products and semisynthesis. The anti-malarial artemisinin and its derivatives are new promising anti-cancer compounds. Artemisinin is a potent anti-cancer drug, active on drug- or radiation-resistant cell lines, with virtually no side effects on normal cells. Artemisinin is highly selective in killing cancer cells and has a broad spectrum of action, being effective against many types of cancers.

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  1. Department of Drug Analysis, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Grigore T. Popa” Iasi, Universitatii 13, 700150, Iaşi, Romania

    Bianca Ivanescu & Andreia Corciova

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  1. Bianca Ivanescu
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  2. Andreia Corciova
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Correspondence to Bianca Ivanescu .

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  1. Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Gatersleben, Germany

    Tariq Aftab

  2. US Salinity Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture Agriculture Research Service, Riverside, California, USA

    Jorge F.S. Ferreira

  3. Botany Department, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India

    M. Masroor A. Khan

  4. Botany Department, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India

    M. Naeem

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Ivanescu, B., Corciova, A. (2014). Artemisinin in Cancer Therapy. In: Aftab, T., Ferreira, J., Khan, M., Naeem, M. (eds) Artemisia annua - Pharmacology and Biotechnology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-41027-7_12

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