Tier 2 — strong

Effect of fisetin supplementation on inflammatory factors and matrix metalloproteinase enzymes in colorectal cancer patients

Alireza Farsad-Naeimi, Mohammad Alizadeh, Ali Esfahani, Esmaeil Darvish Aminabad
Food & Function 2018 9(4):2025–2031

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 29541713
DOI
10.1039/c7fo01898c
Trial registry
View on ClinicalTrials.gov Registered trial — results not yet published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Funding
Financial support was provided by the Nutrition Research Center of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences.
Competing interests
No explicit competing-interests statement was identified in the supplied paper; no commercial funding was reported in the acknowledgements.

Study snapshot

DesignRandomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.
ModelAdults with stage II or III colorectal cancer receiving oxaliplatin plus capecitabine chemotherapy.
Sample42 recruited; 37 completed (18 fisetin, 19 placebo).
InterventionWax Tree-derived fisetin (Novusetin) 100 mg orally once daily versus 100 mg corn-starch placebo, starting one week before chemotherapy and continuing through the second chemotherapy cycle.
Duration7 consecutive weeks.
EndpointsPlasma IL-8; IL-10; hs-CRP; MMP-7; MMP-9

What the study showed, in plain terms

This small randomized trial tested 100 mg/day of fisetin as an adjunct during chemotherapy in people with colorectal cancer. Researchers measured inflammatory and matrix-remodeling biomarkers rather than tumor shrinkage, recurrence or survival.

Several markers fell within the fisetin group, but after comparing fisetin directly with placebo, only IL-8 showed a statistically significant between-group difference. The study therefore provides an early human anti-inflammatory signal, not evidence that fisetin treats colorectal cancer.

Key findings

  • IL-8 and hs-CRP decreased within the fisetin group, and MMP-7 also declined.
  • Only IL-8 remained statistically significant in the direct fisetin-versus-placebo comparison (p<0.03).
  • The trial evaluated inflammatory/metastatic biomarkers, not clinical cancer efficacy endpoints.

What this study can and cannot tell us

  • Small sample and short seven-week intervention reduce statistical power and limit generalizability.
  • Participants were simultaneously receiving chemotherapy, so findings apply to this adjunct setting rather than fisetin monotherapy.
  • Most measured biomarkers did not show significant between-group changes, and no tumor-response or survival endpoint was tested.

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Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology