Melanoma is a complex type of cancer that depends on several metabolic factors, while the currently used therapies are not always effective and have unwanted side effects. In this review, the main factors involved in the etiology of cutaneous carcinoma are highlighted, together with the main genes and proteins that regulate cancer invasion and metastization. The role of five selected flavonoids, namely, apigenin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, kaempferol, naringenin, and silybin, in the modulating receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) and Wnt pathways is reported with their relevance in the future design of drugs to mitigate and/or treat melanoma. However, as phenolic compounds have some difficulties in reaching the target site, the encapsulation of these compounds in nanoparticles is a promising strategy to promote improved physicochemical stabilization of the bioactives and achieve greater bioavailability. Scientific evidence is given about the beneficial effects of loading these flavonoids into selected nanoparticles for further exploitation in the treatment of melanoma.
Keywords: apigenin; epigallocatechin-3-gallate; kaempferol; melanoma; nanoparticles; naringenin; silybin.