8.15 Cancers of the Oral Cavity, Pharynx, and Esophagus

UPDATED date

CBG kills Human Oral Epithelial cancer Cells, including multi-drug resistant cells[Baek_1998]. Linalool has been shown to be cytotoxic against oral cancer cells[Sobral_2014, Linalool].

Perillyl alcohol and perillic acid are metabolites of d-limonene. These two compounds improve the effectiveness of radiation against tongue squamous cell cancer and pharynx squamous cell cancer[Samaila_2004]. The pharynx is a complex collection of structures extending above and below the back of the mouth. 

Inhibiting Invasion and Metastasis

Menthol has reduced the invasion potential of oral squamous carcinoma cell lines[Sobral_2014, menthol].

Cytokine Control

TNF-α promotes the development of pre-cancerous cells leading to oral squamous cell cancer[Lee_2012]. IL-1β promotes malignant transformation and tumor aggressiveness in oral cancer[Lee_2015].

Geraniol lowers TNF-α and IL-1β in a rat model of tongue cancer[Madankumar_2017]. Taming Inflammatory Cytokines
has some additional ideas on taming these two cytokines.

References

Baek_1998. Boron trifluoride etherate on silica-A modified lewis acid reagent (VII)\. Antitumor activity of cannabigerol against human oral epitheloid carcinoma cells. Abstract. Baek S H, Kim Y O, Kwag J S, et al. Archives of pharmacal research. Published 1998.

icon icons/globeicon.png. Sobral_2014. Antitumor Activity of Monoterpenes Found in Essential Oils.

Sobral_2014, Linalool. 1.29\. Linalool. Summary. Sobral M V, Xavier A L, Lima T C, de Sousa D P. ScientificWorldJournal. 2014 October 14.

Sobral_2014, menthol. 1.3\. Menthol. Summary. ~. ~. ~.

Samaila_2004. Monoterpenes Enhanced the Sensitivity of Head and Neck Cancer Cells to Radiation Treatment In Vitro. Abstract, full text. Samaila D, Toy B J, Wang R C, Elegbede J A. Anticancer research. 2004 September.

 Madankumar_2017. Geraniol attenuates 4NQO-induced tongue carcinogenesis through lowering the activation of NF-κB in rats. Abstract. Madankumar A, Tamilarasi S, Premkumar T. Molecular and cellular biochemistry. Online 2017 April 10.

Lee_2012. TNFα enhances cancer stem cell-like phenotype via Notch-Hes1 activation in oral squamous cell carcinoma cells. Full text. Lee S H, Hong H S, Liu Z X, et al. Biochemical and biophysical research communications. Online 2012 July 20.

Lee_2015. IL-1β promotes malignant transformation and tumor aggressiveness in oral cancer. Abstract. Lee C-H, Chang J S-M, Syu S-H, et al. Journal of cellular physiology. Published 2015 April.