Dana Parisa Maleki, Sadoughi Fatemeh, Reiter Russel J, Yousefi Bahman, Asemi Zatollah
Student Research Committee, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.
Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy, UT Health. Long School of Medicine, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA.
Mini Rev Med Chem. 2023;23(3):290-297. doi: 10.2174/1389557522666220619232941.
Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is a secretory product of the pineal gland. A great number of studies have been investigating the functions of this indoleamine in various diseases. Excessive proliferation, reduction in apoptosis, increased angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis are all processes associated with cancerous tissues. In several cancer types, melatonin is reported to significantly impact these processes. Although bone cancer is relatively rare, it is a serious disease that often becomes metastatic, leading to an unsatisfactory prognosis. In recent decades, significant advances have been made in the therapeutic strategies for bone cancer. Nevertheless, few changes have occurred to patients' outcomes or therapeutic methods. Currently used therapeutic strategies including chemotherapy and radiotherapy often show serious side effects. Moreover, therapeutic options are not sufficient in certain cases, such as metastatic forms of the disease. Therefore, there is a need for a more precise definition of the molecular pathways and cellular functions associated with bone cancer to find novel therapeutic approaches. With such advances, the development of new effective therapies for patients with advanced stage or metastatic forms of the disease will be achieved, resulting in an improved prognosis. This review summarizes what is known about the functions of melatonin in osteosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma. We explain the underlying mechanisms of action by which melatonin serves as an antitumor agent in bone cancer as well as provide an insight into its synergistic effects with other chemotherapeutic drugs.
褪黑素（N-乙酰-5-甲氧基色胺）是松果体的一种分泌产物。大量研究一直在探究这种吲哚胺在各种疾病中的功能。过度增殖、细胞凋亡减少、血管生成增加、侵袭和转移都是与癌组织相关的过程。在几种癌症类型中，据报道褪黑素会对这些过程产生显著影响。尽管骨癌相对罕见，但它是一种严重的疾病，常发生转移，导致预后不佳。近几十年来，骨癌的治疗策略取得了重大进展。然而，患者的预后或治疗方法几乎没有变化。目前使用的治疗策略，包括化疗和放疗，往往会显示出严重的副作用。此外，在某些情况下，如疾病的转移形式，治疗选择并不充分。因此，需要更精确地定义与骨癌相关的分子途径和细胞功能，以寻找新的治疗方法。随着这些进展，将为晚期或转移性疾病患者开发出新的有效疗法，从而改善预后。本综述总结了关于褪黑素在骨肉瘤和尤因肉瘤中的功能的已知信息。我们解释了褪黑素作为骨癌抗肿瘤剂的潜在作用机制，并深入探讨了其与其他化疗药物的协同作用。
