Antineoplastic Biogenic Silver Nanomaterials to Combat Cervical Cancer: A Novel Approach in Cancer Therapeutics

Nanomedicine is a rapidly growing and promising field to combat cancer. This study was aimed to systematically review the original published articles to evaluate the efficacy of biologically synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) against cervical cancer cells through in vitro investigations. The articles were selected through the online databases, including Cochrane, Embase, Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct, ProQuest, and Web of Science for the articles published up to 31 August 2019. Sixty-five articles were found eligible to enter into our study. Our finding revealed that a vast 92.3% of articles stated the significant cytotoxicity of biogenic AgNPs against cervical cancer cells, while 7.7% of articles represented no cytotoxicity against cervical cancer cells. The proposed molecular mechanisms of anticancer activity of biogenic AgNPs against cervical cancer cells included the release of silver cations from AgNPs in the cell culture medium, generation of intracellular Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), induction of apoptosis pathways, and DNA damage. This study provided significant preliminary evidence from the anticancer potential of biogenic AgNPs against cervical cancer cells. Future molecular studies will elucidate the exact molecular mechanisms of biogenic AgNPs-induced cytotoxicity in cervical cancer cells.