Nowadays, there are some molecules that have shown over the years a high capacity to act against relevant pathologies such as cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disorders or cancer. This article provides a brief review about the origin, bioavailability and new research on curcumin and synthetized derivatives. It examines the beneficial effects on health, delving into aspects such as cancer, cardiovascular effects, metabolic syndrome, antioxidant capacity, anti-inflammatory properties, and neurological, liver and respiratory disorders. Thanks to all these activities, curcumin is positioned as an interesting nutraceutical. This is the reason why it has been subjected to several modifications in its structure and administration form that have permitted an increase in bioavailability and effectiveness against different diseases, decreasing the mortality and morbidity associated to these pathologies.

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Mediterranean countries have lower rates of mortality from cardiovascular disease and cancer than Northern European or other Western countries. This has been attributed, at least in part, to the so-called Mediterranean diet, which is composed of specific local foods, including olive oil. Traditionally, many beneficial properties associated with this oil have been ascribed to its high oleic acid content. Today, it is clear that many of the beneficial effects of ingesting virgin olive oil are due to its minor compounds. This review summarizes the existing knowledge concerning the chemistry, pharmacokinetics, and toxicology of hydroxytyrosol, a minor compound of virgin olive oil, as well as this compound's importance for health. The main findings in terms of its beneficial effects in cardiovascular disease and cancer, including its properties against inflammation and platelet aggregation, are emphasized. New evidence and strategies regarding the use of hydroxytyrosol as a natural drug for the prevention and treatment of diseases with high incidences in Western countries are also presented.

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Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous disease with distinct molecular subtypes that differentially respond to chemotherapy and targeted agents. The purpose of this study is to explore the clinical relevance of Lehmann TNBC subtypes by identifying any differences in response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy among them. We determined Lehmann subtypes by gene expression profiling in paraffined pre-treatment tumor biopsies from 125 TNBC patients treated with neoadjuvant anthracyclines and/or taxanes +/- carboplatin. We explored the clinicopathological characteristics of Lehmann subtypes and their association with the pathologic complete response (pCR) to different treatments. The global pCR rate was 37%, and it was unevenly distributed within Lehmann’s subtypes. Basal-like 1 (BL1) tumors exhibited the highest pCR to carboplatin containing regimens (80% vs 23%, p=0.027) and were the most proliferative (Ki-67>50% of 88.2% vs. 63.7%, p=0.02). Luminal-androgen receptor (LAR) patients achieved the lowest pCR to all treatments (14.3% vs 42.7%, p=0.045 when excluding mesenchymal stem-like (MSL) samples) and were the group with the lowest proliferation (Ki-67≤50% of 71% vs 27%, p=0.002). In our cohort, only tumors with LAR phenotype presented non-basal-like intrinsic subtypes (HER2-enriched and luminal A). TNBC patients present tumors with a high genetic diversity ranging from highly proliferative tumors, likely responsive to platinum-based therapies, to a subset of chemoresistant tumors with low proliferation and luminal characteristics.