癌症是全球主要死亡原因之一，每年有超过 1000 万人死亡。虽然可以通过手术切除肿瘤并通过化疗、放疗、免疫疗法、激素疗法或联合疗法进行治疗，但目前的治疗通常会对正常组织产生毒副作用。因此，研究人员正在积极寻找选择性消除癌细胞的方法，尽量减少对正常组织的毒副作用。酪蛋白及其衍生物已显示出良好的抗癌潜力，对各种肿瘤类型的细胞具有抗肿瘤和细胞毒性作用，而不会对正常细胞造成伤害。总的来说，这些数据揭示了酪蛋白及其衍生肽研究的进展，特别是提供了对癌症治疗分子作用机制的全面了解。这些机制通过各种信号传导途径发生，包括 (i) 干扰素相关 STAT1 信号传导的增加，(ii) 干性相关标记物（如 CD44）的抑制，(iii) STAT3/HIF1-α 信号传导的减弱，（ iv) uPAR 和 PAI-1 的下调表达，(v) 线粒体膜电位的丧失和细胞内 ATP 产生的减少，(vi) caspase-3 活性的增加，以及 (vii) TLR4/NF-的抑制кB 信号传导。因此，我们得出结论，酪蛋白可能是癌症治疗的有效佐剂。© 2024。作者。

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, with over 10 million fatalities annually. While tumors can be surgically removed and treated with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, hormonal therapy, or combined therapies, current treatments often result in toxic side effects in normal tissue. Therefore, researchers are actively seeking ways to selectively eliminate cancerous cells, minimizing the toxic side effects in normal tissue. Caseins and its derivatives have shown promising anti-cancer potential, demonstrating antitumor and cytotoxic effects on cells from various tumor types without causing harm to normal cells. Collectively, these data reveals advancements in the study of caseins and their derivative peptides, particularly providing a comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanism of action in cancer therapy. These mechanisms occur through various signaling pathways, including (i) the increase of interferon-associated STAT1 signaling, (ii) the suppression of stemness-related markers such as CD44, (iii) the attenuation of the STAT3/HIF1-α signaling, (iv) the down-expression of uPAR and PAI-1, (v) the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and reduced intracellular ATP production, (vi) the increase of caspase-3 activity, and (vii) the suppression of TLR4/NF-кB signaling. Therefore, we conclude that casein could be an effective adjuvant for cancer treatment.© 2024. The Author(s).