Plant natural products with anti-thyroid cancer activity

Thyroid cancer is the most frequent endocrine malignancy, with more than 500,000
cases per year worldwide. Differentiated thyroid cancers are the most common forms
with best prognosis, while poorly/undifferentiated ones are rare (2% of all thyroid
cancers), aggressive, frequently metastasized and have a worse prognosis. For
aggressive, metastatic and advanced thyroid cancers, novel antitumor molecules are
urgently needed and phytochemical products can be a rational and extensive source,
since secondary plant metabolites can guarantee the necessary biochemical variability
for therapeutic purpose. Among bioactive molecules that present biological activity on
thyroid cancer, resveratrol, curcumin, isoflavones, glucosinolates are the most
common and used in experimental model. Most of them have been studied both in
vitro and in vivo on this cancer, but rarely in clinical trials. This review summarizes
phytochemicals, phytotherapeutics and plant derived compounds used in thyroid
cancer.