Cancer is one of the leading causes of global health concern. Even though diagnostic techniques and targeted therapies, including immuno-oncology, have made remarkable progress, cancer-related issues like treatment-related toxicity, drug resistance, chronic inflammation, immune dysregulation, and poor quality of life still persist. Supportive and integrative strategies are, therefore, necessary. This narrative review examines the potential of Ayurvedic phytoconstituents as supportive agents in contemporary cancer therapeutics by utilizing the “Hallmarks of Cancer” paradigm. The literary review identifies, evaluates, and synthesizes the evidence for the use of relevant bioactive compounds in cancer care based on PubMed-and Scopus-indexed observational and clinical trials literature published between 2000 and 2025. Moreover, the study discusses the main molecular bioactive compounds such as curcumin, withaferin A, boswellic acids, berberine, piperine, nimbolide, and other related phytomolecules and matches their molecular actions with cancer pathways such as sustained proliferative signaling, resistance to apoptosis, tumor-promoting inflammation, angiogenesis, metabolic reprogramming, invasion, and immune evasion. In addition, these phytoconstituents offer various host-directed advantages, including reduction of therapy-induced toxicities, modulation of inflammation and oxidative stress, and enhancement of treatment tolerance and quality of life, aside from their direct anticancer effects. The review points out difficulties in clinical translation, such as variation in herbal sources, bioavailability issues, standardization, herb-drug interactions, and a small number of high-quality clinical trials. In brief, this “herbs to molecules” viewpoint acts as a roadmap for the ethical and evidence-based integration of Ayurvedic phytochemistry into the modern integrative oncology practice.
Gangurde et al. (Thu,) studied this question.