Drugs and methods that enhance the anti-cancer efficacy of artesunate

Artemisinin, which was discovered by the researcher Tu Youyou, inspired by a 2,000-year-old Chinese Medicine text, has become the most effective and safest drug to treat malaria. Artemisinin has saved millions of lives and brought the Nobel Prize in Medicine to the researcher. Studies conducted over the years have shown that artemisinin and its derivatives will have not only be noted for its anti-malarial properties, but also anti-inflammatory, immunomodulator, antiviral, antidiabetic, anti-atherosclerotic, and anti-cancer effects. The drug and derivatives are also proven to be safe and can be used in children and pregnant women, placing the drug in an important position in modern medicine. Particularly in the last twenty years, many studies have been conducted on the anti-cancer benefits of Artesunate, which is a water-soluble, semi-synthetic derivative of artemisinin.

Artesunate shows anti-cancer properties via many cellular mechanisms. Working to re-regulate the cellular mechanisms that cancer cells use and reprogram in favor of their own survival, it makes the surrounding tissue less favorable for cancer cells to survive and spread. Exerting cytotoxic effects on cancer cells, while having minimal effects on healthy cells, Artesunate is a promising anti-cancer agent and further research into this derivative is desirable.

Artesunate is involved in several mechanisms involved in cancer, providing many opportunities for the development and discovery of new drugs and methods (in detection and screening) that can create a synergic effect with Artesunate against cancer. In this Research Topic, we welcome Original Research, Clinical Trials, Systematic Reviews, Reviews, Mini-reviews, Perspectives and Opinion Articles that focus on drugs and methods that increase the anti-cancer efficacy of artesunate.

We welcome articles that address, but are not limited to, the following sub-themes:

- The detection and discovery of new drugs that work synergistically with Artesunate to improve tolerability and Anti-Cancer efficacy

- The potential for Artesunate to be a safer, more effective alternative to conventional chemotherapy when supported with the right methods and drugs

Keywords: Anti-cancer, Artesunate, Derivatives, Cytotoxic effects, Conventional chemotherapy

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