Phytotherapy: An Alternative Approach to Treat Glioblastoma

Cancer is one of the biggest causes of mortality worldwide. It is featured by uncontrolled cell growth due to genetic alteration which leads to reprogramming of cells that results in loss of controlled cell division. Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive and frequently occurring tumors of the central nervous system. It is a fatal brain cancer and the affected person can die in six months or less. It is reported that more than 60% of brain tumor cases in adults are because of Glioblastoma. Its treatment is a massive challenge in the field of clinical oncology. Despite having advanced treatments like surgical resection, radiotherapy and chemotherapy which has improved the survival and quality of life of patients but still this disease is deadly and has poor prognosis. It has been observed that these conventional methods have many side effects with frequent recurrence and limited success rate. For the treatment of Glioblastoma new approaches and innovations are required in the field of medicines and therapeutic strategies. Plants are a marvelous source of various secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids and other bioactive compounds which have anti-malignant, anti-mutagenic, antineoplastic properties and can have immense potential to treat cancer. Around 50% of modern medicines have plant origin and 80% of the rural population depend on traditional medicinal knowledge as their primary health system. Novel compounds extracted from plants can be a potential solution to treat this deadly disease. Through this review the author is trying to focus on how phytotherapy plays a crucial role against fatal disease like glioblastoma and can be used as an alternative over the conventional methods.