Role of Phytochemicals in Cancer Prevention

The use of synthetic, natural, or biological agents to minimize the occurrence of cancer in healthy individuals is defined as cancer chemoprevention. Chemopreventive agents inhibit the development of cancer either by impeding DNA damage, which leads to malignancy or by reversing or blocking the division of premalignant cells with DNA damage. The benefit of this approach has been demonstrated in clinical trials of breast, prostate, and colon cancer. The continuous increase in cancer cases, failure of conventional chemotherapies to control cancer, and excessive toxicity of chemotherapies clearly demand an alternative approach. The first trial to show benefit of chemoprevention was undertaken in breast cancer patients with the use of tamoxifen, which demonstrated a significant decrease in invasive breast cancer. The success of using chemopreventive agents for protecting the high risk populations from cancer indicates that the strategy is rational and promising. Dietary components such as capsaicin, cucurbitacin B, isoflavones, catechins, lycopenes, benzyl isothiocyanate, phenethyl isothiocyanate, and piperlongumine have demonstrated inhibitory effects on cancer cells indicating that they may serve as chemopreventive agents. In this review, we have addressed the mechanism of chemopreventive and anticancer effects of several natural agents.

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Breast Cancer Chemoprevention: Old and New Approaches

Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology ◽

10.1155/2012/985620 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Massimiliano Cazzaniga ◽

Bernardo Bonanni

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Precancerous Lesions ◽

Molecular Targets ◽

Cancer Chemoprevention ◽

New Approaches ◽

Estrogen Receptor Modulators ◽

Natural Agents ◽

Breast Cancer Chemoprevention ◽

Er Positive ◽

High Risk Populations

In 1976, Sporn has defined chemoprevention as “the use of pharmacologic or natural agents that inhibit the development of invasive breast cancer either by blocking the DNA damage that initiates carcinogenesis, or by arresting or reversing the progression of premalignant cells in which such damage has already occurred.” Although the precise mechanism or mechanisms that promote a breast cancer are not completely established, the success of several recent clinical trials in preventive settings in selected high-risk populations suggests that chemoprevention is a rational and an appealing strategy. Breast cancer chemoprevention has focused heavily on endocrine intervention using selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) and aromatase inhibitors (AIs). Achieving much success in this particular setting and new approaches as low-dose administration are actually under investigations in several topics. Unfortunately, these drugs are active in prevention of endocrine responsive lesions only and have no effect in reducing the risk of estrogen-negative breast cancer. Thus, recently new pathways, biomarkers, and agents likely are to be effective in this subgroup of cancers and were put under investigation. Moreover, the identification of new potential molecular targets and the development of agents aimed at these targets within cancer have already had a significant impact on advanced cancer therapy and provide a wealth of opportunities for chemoprevention. This paper will highlight current clinical research in both ER-positive and ER-negative breast cancer chemoprevention, explaining the biologic effect of the various agents on carcinogenesis and precancerous lesions, and finally presenting an excursus on the state-of-the-art about new molecular targets under investigations in breast cancer settings.

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Antioxidants for the Treatment of Breast Cancer: Are We There Yet?

Antioxidants ◽

10.3390/antiox10020205 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 205

Author(s):

Carmen Griñan-Lison ◽

Jose L. Blaya-Cánovas ◽

Araceli López-Tejada ◽

Marta Ávalos-Moreno ◽

Alba Navarro-Ocón ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Oxidative Stress ◽

Cancer Progression ◽

Redox Homeostasis ◽

Breast Carcinogenesis ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Chemopreventive Agents ◽

Low Degree ◽

Potential Use

Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in women. Oxidative stress and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been related to cancer progression. Compared to their normal counterparts, tumor cells show higher ROS levels and tight regulation of REDOX homeostasis to maintain a low degree of oxidative stress. Traditionally antioxidants have been extensively investigated to counteract breast carcinogenesis and tumor progression as chemopreventive agents; however, there is growing evidence indicating their potential as adjuvants for the treatment of breast cancer. Aimed to elucidate whether antioxidants could be a reality in the management of breast cancer patients, this review focuses on the latest investigations regarding the ambivalent role of antioxidants in the development of breast cancer, with special attention to the results derived from clinical trials, as well as their potential use as plausible agents in combination therapy and their power to ameliorate the side effects attributed to standard therapeutics. Data retrieved herein suggest that antioxidants play an important role in breast cancer prevention and the improvement of therapeutic efficacy; nevertheless, appropriate patient stratification based on “redoxidomics” or tumor subtype is mandatory in order to define the dosage for future standardized and personalized treatments of patients.

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Persistent Increased Frequency of Genomic Instability in Women Diagnosed with Breast Cancer: Before, during, and after Treatments

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity ◽

10.1155/2018/2846819 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Márcia Fernanda Correia Jardim Paz ◽

André Luiz Pinho Sobral ◽

Jaqueline Nascimento Picada ◽

Ivana Grivicich ◽

Antonio Luiz Gomes Júnior ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Dna Damage ◽

Comet Assay ◽

Peripheral Blood ◽

Micronucleus Test ◽

Cancer Control ◽

Control Group ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Buccal Cells ◽

Oncological Treatment

This study aimed to evaluate DNA damage in patients with breast cancer before treatment (background) and after chemotherapy (QT) and radiotherapy (RT) treatment using the Comet assay in peripheral blood and the micronucleus test in buccal cells. We also evaluated repair of DNA damage after the end of RT, as well as the response of patient’s cells before treatment with an oxidizing agent (H2O2; challenge assay). Fifty women with a mammographic diagnosis negative for cancer (control group) and 100 women with a diagnosis of breast cancer (followed up during the treatment) were involved in this study. The significant DNA damage was observed by increasing in the index and frequency of damage along with the increasing of the frequency of micronuclei in peripheral blood and cells of the buccal mucosa, respectively. Despite the variability of the responses of breast cancer patients, the individuals presented lesions on the DNA, detected by the Comet assay and micronucleus Test, from the diagnosis until the end of the oncological treatment and were more susceptible to oxidative stress. We can conclude that the damages were due to clastogenic and/or aneugenic effects related to the neoplasia itself and that they increased, especially after RT.

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Predictive significance of DNA damage and repair biomarkers in triple-negative breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy: An exploratory analysis

Oncotarget ◽

10.18632/oncotarget.6001 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 6 (40) ◽

pp. 42773-42780 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Patrizia Vici ◽

Anna Di Benedetto ◽

Cristiana Ercolani ◽

Laura Pizzuti ◽

Luigi Di Lauro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Dna Damage ◽

Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Triple Negative Breast Cancer ◽

Triple Negative ◽

Exploratory Analysis ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Dna Damage And Repair

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Radiation-Induced DNA Damage as a Predictor of Long-Term Toxicity in Locally Advanced Breast Cancer Patients Treated with High-Dose Hyperfractionated Radical Radiotherapy

Radiation Research ◽

10.1667/rr0746.1 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 168 (4) ◽

pp. 415-422 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Beatriz Pinar ◽

Pedro Carlos Lara ◽

Marta Lloret ◽

Elisa Bordón ◽

María Isabel Núñez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Dna Damage ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Locally Advanced Breast Cancer ◽

Locally Advanced ◽

High Dose ◽

Radical Radiotherapy ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Radiation Induced

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Preliminary evaluation of a novel blood test to predict delayed nausea for breast cancer patients.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2017.35.15_suppl.e18210 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽

pp. e18210-e18210

Author(s):

Kinjal Parikh ◽

Yue Wang ◽

Amy L Brady ◽

Zonera A. Ali ◽

Aarti Lothe Shevade ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Substance P ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Cell Damage ◽

Treated Group ◽

Preliminary Evaluation ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Severe Nausea ◽

Continuous Increase ◽

Delayed Nausea

e18210 Background: We have previously reported on glutathione recycling capacity (GRC) in red blood cells as a predictor of delayed nausea in cancer patients treated with platinum-based chemotherapies [1]. The test identifies individual variations in the efficiency to scavenge reactive oxygen species, produced by chemotherapy-induced cell-damage, which triggers release of serotonin – a know inducer of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. In this current study, we have examined if the GRC assay and/or changes in substance P (SP), another inducer of nausea, can predict delayed nausea among breast cancer patients receiving doxorubicin- or taxane-based therapies and thereby provide better guidance to individualized antiemetic therapies. Methods: Chemotherapy naïve breast cancer patients were asked to participate in this IRB-approved study. Consented patients donated a tube of blood prior to each treatment cycle. Commercial kits were used to measure GRC (OxPhos, Rockland Inc.) and Substance P (Parameter, R&D Systems). On-set, duration and severity of nausea, and anti-emetics prescribed were documented by the medical staff. Results: Obtained GRC and SP values were compared to documented incidences of nausea. We found that 26.8% of taxane treated patients [N = 42] had moderate/severe nausea and demonstrated a similar GRC pattern to platinum-based induced nausea, i.e. low GRC results in more severe nausea. Among doxorubicin treated [N = 31] patients, 41.9% had moderate/severe nausea but showed no correlation with GRC. However, preliminary evaluation of these patients showed a continuous increase in SP levels (average 1.74 fold increase after one cycle). Conclusions: In this initial evaluation of our on-going study, we found that fewer patients had nausea in the taxane treated group with a similar GRC predictive pattern as previously reported. However, patients in the doxorubicin treated group were more likely to experience nausea with no correlation to GRC but with a steadily rising level of SP during the early part of their regimen. Using SP testing could help identify patients that might have a medical benefit from additional NK1 antagonist therapy. 1. Kutner, T., et al. Supprot Care Cancer (2017) 25:581-587.

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