The anti-neoplastic effects of coumarin: an emerging concept.

The recent article by Liu et al. provided for highly interesting reading. Interestingly, recent data suggests that coumarin may exert significant anti-neoplastic effects in a number of systemic malignancies. Coumarin is also of clinical benefit in mammary malignancies. For instance, it attenuates the extent of extremity lymphedema following breast cancer surgery and radiation therapy. In one recent study, an almost 12.5 % decline in the volume of upper extremity lymphedema was noticed. As a result, quality of life is significantly improved. Similar attenuation of tumor growth has been seen in pulmonary malignancies. It mediates these anti-neoplastic effects by attenuating Bcl-2 expression within the tumor cells. On the other hand, Bax expression within the tumor cells is markedly accentuated. These changes have recently been confirmed in A549 cells.