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Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers cause one-third of all cancer-related deaths worldwide. Natural compounds are emerging as alternative or adjuvant cancer therapies given their distinct advantage of manipulating multiple pathways to both suppress tumor growth and alleviate cancer comorbidities; however, concerns regarding efficacy, bioavailability, and safety are barriers to their development for clinical use. Emodin (1,3,8-trihydroxy-6-methylanthraquinone), a Chinese herb-derived anthraquinone, has been shown to exert anti-tumor effects in colon, liver, and pancreatic cancers. While the mechanisms underlying emodin’s tumoricidal effects continue to be unearthed, recent evidence highlights a role for mitochondrial mediated apoptosis, modulated stress and inflammatory signaling pathways, and blunted angiogenesis. The goals of this review are to (1) highlight emodin’s anti-cancer properties within GI cancers, (2) discuss the known anti-cancer mechanisms of action of emodin, (3) address emodin’s potential as a treatment complementary to standard chemotherapeutics, (4) assess the efficacy and bioavailability of emodin derivatives as they relate to cancer, and (5) evaluate the safety of emodin.

Physical inactivity is a major concern in cancer patients despite the established preventative and therapeutic effects of regular physical exercise for this patient group. Sport not only plays an important role in supporting the development and maintenance of a physically active lifestyle but also is increasingly used as a health promotion activity in various populations. Nevertheless, the potential of sport as an effective strategy in the prevention and management of cancer has gained little attention. Based on the scant evidence to date, participation of cancer patients in supervised, well-tailored sport programs appears to be safe and feasible and is associated with an array of physical and psychological benefits. We propose that sport participation may serve as an alternative strategy in the prevention of cancer and sport medicine in the management of cancer. As with the traditional exercise modes, benefits derived from sport participation will be dependent on the sport undertaken and the physical/physiological, motor, and cognitive demands required. To this end, further work is required to develop a solid evidence base in this field so that targeted sport participation can be recommended for cancer patients.

Objective . To compare the effects of a group-mediated cognitive behavioral (GMCB) exercise and dietary (EX+D) intervention with those of standard-of-care (SC) treatment on select social cognitive outcomes in prostate cancer (PCa) patients undergoing androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Methods . In the single-blind, 2-arm, randomized controlled Individualized Diet and Exercise Adherence–Pilot (IDEA-P) trial, 32 PCa patients (mean age = 66.2 years; SD = 7.8) undergoing ADT were randomly assigned to a 12-week EX+D intervention (n = 16) or SC treatment (n = 16). The exercise component of the personalized EX+D intervention integrated a combination of supervised resistance and aerobic exercise performed twice per week. The dietary component involved counseling and education to modify dietary intake and composition. Blinded assessments of social cognitive outcomes were obtained at baseline and 2-month and 3-month follow-up. Results . Intent-to-treat analysis of covariance demonstrated that the EX+D intervention resulted in significantly greater improvements in scheduling ( P < .05), coping ( P < .01), and exercise self-efficacy ( P < .05), and satisfaction with function ( P < .01) at 3 months relative to SC. Results of partial correlation analysis also demonstrated that select social cognitive outcomes were significantly correlated with primary trial outcomes of mobility performance and exercise participation ( P < .05) at 3-month follow-up. Conclusions : The GMCB lifestyle intervention yielded more favorable improvements in relevant social cognitive outcomes relative to SC among PCa patients undergoing ADT. Additionally, more favorable social cognitive outcomes were associated with superior mobility performance and exercise participation following the independent maintenance phase of the EX+D intervention.