title: Silibinin: a potential old drug for cancer therapy.
abstract: Silibinin is mixture of flavonolignans extracted from milk thistle and often has been used in the treatment of acute and chronic liver disorders caused by toxins, drug, alcohol and hepatitis and gall bladder disorders for its antioxidant and hepatoprotective properties. Areas covered: However, increasing evidence suggest that silibinin is not solely limited in the treatment of these diseases. Further research suggests that silymarin may function diversely and may serve as a novel therapy for cancer therapy, such as lung cancer, prostatic cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer, bladder cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma by regulating cancer cells growth, proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis and many other mechanism. Expert commentary: In this review, in order to provide potential new treatment for these cancer, we summarize the recent anti-cancer findings of silibinin in these cancer and clarify the mechanisms of this effect.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Nephrology , Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital , Hangzhou , China.
authors.forename: Xing-Xing
authors.initials: XX
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: b Department of Cardiology , Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital , Hangzhou , China.
authors.forename: Ya-Hui
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: c Department of Hematology , Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital , Hangzhou , China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: b Department of Cardiology , Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital , Hangzhou , China.
authors.forename: Lin-Yan
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: b Department of Cardiology , Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital , Hangzhou , China.
authors.forename: Hai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: a Department of Nephrology , Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital , Hangzhou , China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: He
keywords: Silibinin; bladder cancer; breast cancer; colon cancer; hepatocellular carcinoma; lung cancer; prostatic cancer