**8. Conclusion**

The tocotrienols have been acknowledged in preclinical studies as a unique, safe and effective natural compound that could be described as a multi-target anticarcinogenic agent. Many studies had confirmed the superiority of tocotrienols in terms of health benefits compared to their chemical siblings i.e., the tocopherols. Studies after studies had arduously confirmed the ability of tocotrienols to regulate various crucial signalling pathways related to the development and growth of cancer (**Table 1**). This makes tocotrienols prime candidates to be used as a monochemotherapeutic anticarcinogenic agent, as well as in combination therapy with other well-known chemotherapeutic agents, with regards to cancer management. No doubt, several studies in humans have confirmed the safety and efficacy aspects of tocotrienols. However, the purported superiority of tocotrienols as potent therapeutics is severely hampered by their insolubility and low bioavailability. In order to address these issues, tocotrienols have been formulated in the form of nanoemulsions, liposomes, micelles complexes, as well as lipid conjugates with established chemotherapeutic drugs in order to elevate their bioavailability and efficacy. Nevertheless, a further appraisal is still needed for these formulations with regards to their actual efficacy. Consequently, more studies are still needed to find suitably effective tocotrienols delivery systems and to further improve the bioavailability and efficacy of tocotrienols. The limited amount of tocotrienols found in nature, and the prohibitive financial means needed for their extraction, led to the implication that tocotrienols are quite expensive to produce. Therefore, more studies are on the cards to find cheaper extraction procedures that produces a high yield of tocotrienols-rich fraction, as well as individual tocotrienols isomers depending on the situation. Furthermore, a considerable amount of research is still needed to elucidate which isomers are effective against which types of carcinomas. It is quite surprising that no major clinical trial has been attempted to explore the potential of tocotrienol in cancer. Therefore, large-scale clinical trials and high-profile translational studies are indeed crucial to establish once and for all the efficacy of tocotrienols or their isomers in the treatment of various types of cancers.
