Natural Products for the Management and Prevention of Breast Cancer

Abstract

Among all types of cancer, breast cancer is one of the most challenging diseases, which is responsible for a large number of cancer related deaths. Hormonal therapy, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy have been used as treatment of breast cancer, for a very long time. Due to severe side effects and multidrug resistance, these treatment approaches become increasingly ineffective. However, adoption of complementary treatment approach can be a big solution for this situation, as it is evident that compounds derived from natural source have a great deal of anticancer activity. Natural compounds can fight against aggressiveness of breast cancer, inhibit cancerous cell proliferation, and modulate cancer related pathways. A large number of research works are now focusing on the natural and dietary compounds and trying to find out new and more effective treatment strategies for the breast cancer patients. In this review, we discussed some significant natural chemical compounds with their mechanisms of actions, which can be very effective against the breast cancer and can be more potent by their proper modifications and further clinical research. Future research focusing on the natural anti-breast-cancer agents can open a new horizon in breast cancer treatment, which will play a great role in enhancing the survival rate of breast cancer patients.

Cucurbitacin B inhibits the migration and invasion of breast cancer cells by altering the biomechanical properties of cells

“…Despite advances in breast cancer treatments, every year, more than one million female patients die of breast cancer, and breast cancer metastasis is the main cause of death (Weigelt, Peterse, & van, ). Natural compounds have powerful anticancer activity and can inhibit the invasion of breast cancer (Mitra & Dash, ). Presently, research on the mechanism of tumor metastasis has mainly focused on processes such as integrin‐mediated cell adhesion; epithelial‐mesenchymal transition; and tumor angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis, and hypoxic microenvironment.…”

“…Natural compounds have powerful anticancer activity and can resist the invasion of breast cancer (Mitra & Dash, ). Cucurbitacin B (CuB) is a tetracyclic triterpene compound that is widely found in plants of the Cucurbitaceae family, such as Momordica charantia L .…”

“…Single-cell stiffness can be used to assess the invasiveness of cancer and provide new insights into the processes underlying cancer metastasis (Kumar and Weaver, 2009). Natural compounds have powerful anticancer activity and can resist the invasion of breast cancer (Mitra & Dash, 2018). Cucurbitacin B (CuB) is a tetracyclic triterpene compound that is widely found in plants of the Cucurbitaceae family, such as Momordica charantia L.…”

Cytotoxic Effect and Mechanisms from Some Plant-Derived Compounds in Breast Cancer

“…Because of these reasons, the survival rates for BrC have decreased significantly; however, there have been great advancements in new alternative therapies which not only are safer but are also more effective and inexpensive and have minimal side effects [5]. Therapeutic drugs derived from natural compounds have become of great interest since more than 75% of anticancer drugs were designed and developed from plant-derived natural ingredients which have been proven to have anticancer properties with novel mechanisms [6].…”

“…The biological models used for the development of new drugs include in vitro models using BrC cell lines and are divided into estrogen receptor positive (ER+, T47, MCF-7) and ER negative (ER-, MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-453, SKBR3). MDA-MB-231 or triple-negative breast cancer cell (TNBC) line, estrogen negative (ER-) and progesterone negative (PR-), and HER-are known to be models for metastasis, which are more aggressive, containing a high potential to metastasize, and are unresponsive to antiestrogens [5,8]. TNBC line is used to investigate the mechanism underlying migration and invasion.…”