Natural Products as Multi-Target Agents in Cancer Prevention and Progression

Plant-derived natural products have long been an invaluable source of anticancer agents for the prevention and treatment of cancer. Although numerous modern and costly treatment strategies are currently used to combat cancer, factors such as treatment resistance, systemic toxicity, and tumor heterogeneity continue to be major obstacles to successful clinical outcomes. To overcome these limitations, bioactive natural products stand out as potential therapeutic agents due to their high molecular diversity and multi-targeted biological activities. Various classes of phytochemicals, including polyphenols, flavonoids, terpenoids, and alkaloids, represent promising candidates for new complementary anticancer strategies due to their ability to simultaneously modulate multiple cellular mechanisms. This review focuses on the roles of ten bioactive compounds-curcumin, resveratrol, quercetin, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), sulforaphane, carvacrol, berberine, luteolin, apigenin, honokiol and propolis-which have shown efficacy in experimental and clinical settings and are among the most widely investigated compounds in contemporary research, in the context of cancer progression. This study provides an overview of the classification and mechanism-based evaluation of these compounds based on their effects on apoptosis avoidance, metastasis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and tumor microenvironment. Furthermore, the current opportunities and limitations of translating these compounds into clinical applications are discussed.