Abstract
Bone metastasis is a serious and often lethal complication of particularly frequent carcinomas, such as breast and prostate cancers, which not only reduces survival but also worsens the patients’ quality of life. Therefore, it is important to find new and/or additional therapeutic possibilities that can counteract the colonization of bone tissue. High adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) is effective in the prevention of cancer and improves cancer patients’ health, thus, here, we considered its impact on bone metastasis. We highlighted some molecular events relevant for the development of a metastatic phenotype in cancer cells and the alterations of physiological bone remodeling, which occur during skeleton colonization. We then considered those natural compounds present in MD foods with a recognized role to inhibit or reverse the metastatic process both in in vivo and in vitro systems, and we reported the identified mechanisms of action. The knowledge of this bioactivity by the dietary components of the MD, together with its wide access to all people, could help not only to maintain healthy status but also to improve the quality of life of patients with bone metastases.
Highlights
The interpretation of data coming from studies conducted on patients diagnosed with breast/prostate cancer and with bone metastasis in reference to the Mediterranean diet (MD) suffers due to the methodologies used, that is, (i) the methods to determine the adherence degree to the MD; (ii) the time interval before and after cancer diagnosis in relation to the followed diet; (iii) the time interval before and after cancer progression to metastasis in relation to the followed diet; (iv) the lack of absolute certainty that the questionnaires used to investigate the diet quality could report true answers; (v) the interaction of the different nutrients and molecules associated in a meal
To reach the new growth site, cancer cells must carry out a set of steps, known as the “metastatic cascade”, in which each passage requires the acquisition of specific biological properties by the tumor cells, such as the capacity to detach from the primary site, to move and infiltrate the surrounding tissue, to invade the vasculature, to survive in the circulation, to extravasate, and to colonize the new growth site
The Mediterranean diet is recognized as a dietary pattern with many positive results and, above all, it is accessible to all people of all ages, efforts are to be made to explore its components and relative bioactivity
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The interpretation of data coming from studies conducted on patients diagnosed with breast/prostate cancer and with bone metastasis in reference to the MD suffers due to the methodologies used, that is, (i) the methods to determine the adherence degree to the MD; (ii) the time interval before and after cancer diagnosis in relation to the followed diet; (iii) the time interval before and after cancer progression to metastasis in relation to the followed diet; (iv) the lack of absolute certainty that the questionnaires used to investigate the diet quality could report true answers; (v) the interaction of the different nutrients and molecules associated in a meal To overcome these problematic aspects and the limitation of the studies concerning the effect of single nutrients [11], the present review firstly highlights the process and pathways used by breast and prostate cancer cells to metastasize and, secondly, considers how nutrients within the MD could influence these specific processes. Due to its high-quality nutrient content, the MD can act as adjuvant therapy to alleviate suffering caused by SREs and improve the quality of life in bone metastatic patients
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