Cytotoxic and Proapoptotic Effects of Resveratrol in In Vitro Studies on Selected Types of Gastrointestinal Cancers

Cancer diseases are currently one of the greatest health challenges in clinical medicine worldwide. Classic methods of treatment often lead to numerous side effects, including the development of multidrug resistance. For this reason, increasing hope is being placed on compounds of natural origin, mainly due to their pleiotropic effect on different types of cells, protective effect on normal cells and toxic effect on cancerous ones. The most studied group are the polyphenolic compounds, which include resveratrol. The effectiveness of polyphenols in the treatment and prevention of many diseases, including cancer of various origins, has become the basis of many scientific studies. The anticancer effect of resveratrol has been demonstrated at all stages of the carcinogenesis process. Additionally, whether administered by itself or in combination with cytostatics, it may play a significant role in the process of reversing multidrug resistance. A review of the effects of resveratrol in in vitro conditions proves that it has a stronger or weaker antiproliferative and proapoptotic effect on the cells of certain neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract. Despite the differences in the effect of this compound on different types of cancer, a similar tendency can be observed especially regarding the correlation between the concentration of the compound and the incubation time on the one hand and the antitumour effect on the other hand. The information included in this review may prove helpful in planning in vivo and clinical studies in the future.