Plant-derived natural compounds as promising anticancer agents in hematological malignancies

The latest treatments have improved outcomes for patients with hematological malignancies, but relapse, treatment resistance and particularly side effects still remain as common limitations of these treatments. Given the disadvantages of the existing conventional therapeutic methods, developing more effective drugs with less toxicity and side effects is of paramount importance. Medicinal herbs have historically proven their worth as a pool of potential therapeutic agents for leukemia and lymphoma, and today they still represent a rich source for the recognition of new drug leads. The role of the positive synergistic effects of plant-derived natural products and common chemotherapeutic drugs is also considered as one of the rational reasons for paying attention to the medicinal plants in recent chemoprevention and chemotherapeutic investigations. Noteworthy, targeted delivery of plant-derived natural products via the incorporation of nanoparticles or antibodies would be a major step to improve their bioavailability and then to increase their therapeutic effects. In this study, we reviewed plant-derived agents approved and/or under investigation for hematological malignancies.