The Radiosensitizing Potentials of Silymarin/Silibinin in Cancer: A Systematic Review

source extracted confidence: high 2026-04-09
#radiation-sensitizing-agents #silymarin #humans #animals #neoplasms

The Radiosensitizing Potentials of Silymarin/Silibinin in Cancer: A Systematic Review

Gupta et al., 2024 | Curr Med Chem | Systematic Review

Citation

Gupta Jitendra, Jalil Abduladheem Turki, ... Farhood Bagher. The Radiosensitizing Potentials of Silymarin/Silibinin in Cancer: A Systematic Review. Curr Med Chem. 2024;31(42):6992-7014. doi:10.2174/0109298673248404231006052436

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Although radiotherapy is one of the main cancer treatment modalities, exposing healthy organs/tissues to ionizing radiation during treatment and tumor resistance to ionizing radiation are the chief challenges of radiotherapy that can lead to different adverse effects. It was shown that the combined treatment of radiotherapy and natural bioactive compounds (such as silymarin/silibinin) can alleviate the ionizing radiation-induced adverse side effects and induce synergies between these therapeutic modalities. In the present review, the potential radiosensitization effects of silymarin/silibinin during cancer radiation exposure/radiotherapy were studied. METHODS: According to the PRISMA guideline, a systematic search was performed for the identification of relevant studies in different electronic databases of Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus up to October 2022. We screened 843 articles in accordance with a predefined set of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Seven studies were finally included in this systematic review. RESULTS: Compared to the control group, the cell survival/proliferation of cancer cells treated with ionizing radiation was considerably less, and silymarin/silibinin administration synergistically increased ionizing radiation-induced cytotoxicity. Furthermore, there was a decrease in the tumor volume, weight, and growth of ionizing radiation-treated mice as compared to the untreated groups, and these diminutions were predominant in those treated with radiotherapy plus silymarin/ silibinin. Furthermore, the irradiation led to a set of biochemical and histopathological changes in tumoral cells/tissues, and the ionizing radiation-induced alterations were synergized following silymarin/silibinin administration (in most cases). CONCLUSION: In most cases, silymarin/silibinin administration could sensitize the cancer cells to ionizing radiation through an increase of free radical formation, induction of DNA damage, increase of apoptosis, inhibition of angiogenesis and metastasis, etc. However, suggesting the use of silymarin/silibinin during radiotherapeutic treatment of cancer patients requires further clinical studies.

Key Findings

Compared to the control group, the cell survival/proliferation of cancer cells treated with ionizing radiation was considerably less, and silymarin/silibinin administration synergistically increased ionizing radiation-induced cytotoxicity. Furthermore, there was a decrease in the tumor volume, weight, and growth of ionizing radiation-treated mice as compared to the untreated groups, and these diminutions were predominant in those treated with radiotherapy plus silymarin/ silibinin. Furthermore,

Outcomes Measured

  • Requires manual extraction

Population

Field Value
Population See abstract
Sample Size See abstract
Age Range See abstract
Condition See abstract

MeSH Terms

  • Radiation-Sensitizing Agents
  • Silymarin
  • Humans
  • Animals
  • Neoplasms
  • Silybin
  • Radiation, Ionizing
  • Cell Survival
  • Cell Proliferation

Evidence Classification

  • Level: Systematic Review
  • Publication Types: Systematic Review, Journal Article
  • Vertical: milk-thistle

Provenance

Source extracted via PubMed E-utilities API on 2026-04-09