Abstract
Breast cancer is a common cancer that occurs due to different epigenetic alterations and genetic mutations. Various epidemiological studies have demonstrated an inverse correlation between breast cancer incidence and flavonoid intake. The anti-cancer action of flavonoids, a class of polyphenolic compounds that are present in plants, as secondary metabolites has been a major topic of research for many years. Our review analysis demonstrates that flavonoids exhibit anti-cancer activity against breast cancer occurring in different ethnic populations. Breast cancer subtype and menopausal status are the key factors in inducing the flavonoid’s anti-cancer action in breast cancer. The dose is another key factor, with research showing that approximately 10 mg/day of isoflavones is required to inhibit breast cancer occurrence. In addition, flavonoids also influence the epigenetic machinery in breast cancer, with research demonstrating that epigallocatechin, genistein, and resveratrol all inhibited DNA methyltransferase and altered chromatin modification in breast cancer. These flavonoids can induce the expression of different tumor suppressor genes that may contribute to decreasing breast cancer progression and metastasis. Additional studies are required to confirm the contribution of epigenetic modifications by flavonoids to breast cancer prevention.
Highlights
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women in both developed and developing countries
This study suggested that a combination of EGCG and sulforaphane treatment induced apoptosis, inhibited cell proliferation, and inhibited enzymatic activities of both DNMT1 and HDAC1 in completely transformed cells compared to pre-transformed cells
Our study revealed that the combined effect of quercetin and curcumin enhanced BRCA1 expression synergistically and the BRCA1 promoter histone H3K9 acetylation was significantly increased with the combined treatment in a triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line (MDA-MB-231) [10]
Summary
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women in both developed and developing countries. Major risk factors for breast cancer include genetic mutation, obesity, alcohol consumption, lack of physical activity, red meat consumption, and processed food intake [2,3,4,5]. Preventing the early alteration of these epigenetic changes may reduce cancer cell proliferation. A myriad of epigenetic modifiers are naturally occurring and readily available as dietary nutrients Among these dietary nutrients, flavonoids and polyphenols have been identified as a major source of epigenetic modifiers. There are reports from studies that have utilized breast cancer cell line models to identify the association between various flavonoids and epigenetic modifications. We included human case study reports on the effect of flavonoids/polyphenols in reducing breast cancer risk. In regards to the mechanism of action, we compiled results of published studies focusing on the epigenetic modification of flavonoids/polyphenols in cell culture models. Additional animal studies and human case studies are required to assess the quantity of a dietary source that is required to induce epigenetic changes
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