The Anti-Cancer Effect of Cinnamon Aqueous Extract: A Focus on Hematological Malignancies

Cinnamon is an evergreen and tropical plant of the family Lauraceae, growing particularlyin Sri Lanka, whose aqueous extract has been tested in different studies to evaluate its possibleuse as an anti-cancer compound. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments seem to confirm that itacts on various cellular pathways, contributing to down-regulating the activity of molecules thatstimulate the proliferation and survival of cells such as the transcription factors NF-KB and AP-1,COX-2, dihydrofolate reductase and pro-angiogenic substances such as VEGF, while up-regulatingthe function of immune cells against tumors, such as cytotoxic CD8+ T cells. In hematologicalmalignancies, aqueous cinnamon extract has been studied in order to understand if it is possible tocount on its help, alone or in combination with traditional drugs such as doxorubicin, to treat patients.The aim of our work is to investigate results from in vitro and in vivo studies about the possible anti-cancer effect of aqueous cinnamon extract in hematological malignancies and the different pathwaysinvolved in its action. The possibility of using cinnamon extract in clinical practice is discussed; evenif its use could appear very interesting, more studies are necessary to clear the real potentiality of thissubstance in cancer.