Volume II: Enhancing Cancer Therapy: Integrating Plant-Derived Bioactives with Chemotherapy through Traditional Knowledge and Modern Advances

This Research Topic is part of a series with: Enhancing Cancer Therapy: Integrating Plant-Derived Bioactives with Chemotherapy through Traditional Knowledge and Modern Advances

The first volume of this Research Topic established a broad foundation for understanding how plant-derived bioactives can be integrated with conventional chemotherapy to improve cancer treatment outcomes. It brought together work on drug delivery systems, mechanisms of synergy between phytochemicals and chemotherapeutic agents, and the role of emerging technologies in overcoming persistent challenges such as drug resistance and treatment toxicity. Building on that foundation, this second volume shifts focus toward the clinical translation of these approaches and the next generation of strategies that are beginning to move from the laboratory into practice.

A central theme of this volume is the transition from preclinical promise to clinical relevance. While the mechanistic basis for combining plant-derived compounds with chemotherapy is increasingly well understood, the path from in vitro and animal model data to reproducible clinical outcomes remains a critical gap. This volume therefore welcomes clinical and translational studies that assess the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of phytochemical-chemotherapy combinations in human populations, including early-phase trials, biomarker-driven patient stratification, and real-world evidence on treatment response and quality of life.

Alongside clinical translation, this volume places particular emphasis on precision and personalization. Advances in genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics are opening new possibilities for identifying which patients are most likely to benefit from specific plant-derived compounds, and for tailoring combination regimens accordingly. Contributions that integrate multi-omics data with pharmacological profiling — or that explore the role of the tumor microenvironment, epigenetic modifications, or gut microbiome composition in mediating responses to phytochemical-based therapies — are especially encouraged.

On the technological side, this volume extends the conversation on delivery systems and modelling tools. Lipid nanoparticles, exosomes, hydrogels, and stimuli-responsive carriers represent significant advances over earlier nanoparticle platforms, and their application to plant-derived compounds warrants dedicated attention. Equally, the growing use of organoids, patient-derived tumor models, and AI-driven drug discovery pipelines is reshaping how combination therapies are screened and optimized before entering clinical evaluation.

Key areas of interest include:

o Clinical and translational studies of phytochemical-chemotherapy combinations, including safety, efficacy, and patient-reported outcomes

o Biomarker development and multi-omics approaches for patient stratification and treatment monitoring

o The role of the tumor microenvironment, epigenetic mechanisms, and the gut microbiome in modulating phytochemical activity

o Next-generation drug delivery systems — including lipid nanoparticles, exosomes, and stimuli-responsive carriers — for plant-derived compounds

o Organoids, patient-derived models, and AI-assisted screening in the development of combination cancer therapies

o Regulatory pathways, standardization of phytochemical preparations, and health equity considerations in access to plant-based combination therapies

Together, these contributions will advance the understanding of how traditional plant knowledge, rigorously interrogated through modern science, can be translated into safe, effective, and accessible treatments that meaningfully improve outcomes for cancer patients.


The Four Pillars of Best Practice in Ethnopharmacology, a framework defining quality standards across four core dimensions of pharmacological, chemical, botanical, and ethnopharmacological research on medicinal plants and natural products.

For all submissions, authors are advised to review and adhere to the Four Pillars of Best Practice in Ethnopharmacology - https://www.frontiersin.org/files/pdf/4_pillars_FULL_TEXT.pdf and the ConPhyMP Statement - https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2022.953205/ful, provides reporting guidelines for the phytochemical characterisation of medicinal plant extracts. The associated ConPhyMP open-access tool, hosted by the Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research (GA), should be completed and submitted as supporting material where applicable.