Greco-Arab and Islamic herbal-derived anti-cancer modalities: From tradition to molecular mechanisms

The incidence of cancer is increasing in the developed countries and even more so in developing countries parallel to the increase in life expectancy. In recent years, clinicians and researchers advocate the need to include supportive and palliative care since the establishment of the diagnosis and throughout the duration of treatment, with the goal of improving patients' quality of life. This patient-centered approach in supportive care is also shared by various traditional and complementary medicine approaches. Traditional Arab-Islamic medicine offers a variety of therapeutic modalities that include herbal, nutritional, and spiritual approaches. Physicians and scholars, such as Avicenna (980–1037), Rhazes (965–915), Al Zahrawi (936–1013), and Ibn al Nafis (1218–1288) referred to cancer etiology in various medicinal texts and suggested both preventive and therapeutic remedies to alleviate suffering. This review presents research data related to the anticancer activities of herbs used in Arab-Islamic medicine and allude to their potential role in improving the quality of life of cancer patients.