Emerging Perspective: Role of Increased ROS and Redox Imbalance in Skin Carcinogenesis

Figure 3

Therapies for skin cancer basing on ROS. There are many treatments for skin cancer in a ROS-targeted way, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, and PDT. These therapies cause toxic-dose ROS production and then lead to redox imbalance, further activating Bcl-2, Bax, and caspase-9 as well as other pathways to induce skin cancer cell death/apoptosis. On the other hand, dietary antioxidants reduce the production of ROS by inhibiting signal pathways such as MAPK, PI3K-Akt, and NF-κB to prevent and control skin cancer (melanoma, SCC, and BCC). In fact, the mechanism of the ROS-based treatment of skin cancer is often interactive. (+) indicates activation and (-) indicates inactivation.