Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a cancer of the epithelial cells lining the nasopharynx. The incidence of NPC has a distinct geographical distribution, mainly affecting the Chinese population of Southern China. In Malaysia, this cancer is exceptionally prevalent among males. There is a high incidence rate of NPC among the Bidayuh natives in Sarawak, Malaysia. Other than epidemiology reports, there has not been an article describing plausible cancer risk factors contributing to NPC within this native group. Researchers are still trying to understand the reasons the Bidayuh and Southern Chinese are highly susceptible to NPC. This article discusses the risk factors of developing NPC: Epstein-Barr virus infection, genetic predisposition, diet, environmental exposure and tobacco smoking. There is a need to improve the understanding of the role of risk factors to identify new ways to prevent cancer, especially among high-risk groups.
In searching for drugs from natural product scaffolds has gained interest among researchers. In this study, a series of twelve halogenated thiourea (ATX 1-12)via chemical modification of aspirin (a natural product derivative) and evaluated for cytotoxic activity against nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cell lines, HK-1 via MTS-based colorimetric assay. The cytotoxicity studies demonstrated that halogens at meta position of ATX showed promising activity against HK-1 cells (IC50 value ≤15 µM) in comparison to cisplatin, a positive cytotoxic drug (IC50 value =8.9 ± 1.9 µM). ATX 11, bearing iodine at meta position, showed robust cytotoxicity against HK-1 cells with an IC50 value of 4.7 ± 0.7 µM. Molecular docking interactions between ATX 11 and cyclooxygenase-2 demonstrated a robust binding affinity value of -8.1 kcal/mol as compared to aspirin's binding affinity value of -6.4 kcal/mol. The findings represent a promising lead molecule from natural product with excellent cytotoxic activity against NPC cell lines.