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Review
. 2018 Feb 26:2018:8324696.
doi: 10.1155/2018/8324696. eCollection 2018.

Natural Products for the Management and Prevention of Breast Cancer

Sarmistha Mitra  1 , Raju Dash  2
Affiliations
Review

Natural Products for the Management and Prevention of Breast Cancer

Sarmistha Mitra et al. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. .

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.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of molecular subtypes of breast cancer (Perou et al. [–28] denoted by pink color) and triple-negative breast cancer types (Lehmann et al. [29] denoted by yellow colour). Red arrow mark indicates the higher expression of cellular gene in each subtype. The subtypes are characterized by overall survival (for breast cancer subtypes) and relapse-free survival (for TNBC subtypes).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Molecular targets of natural compounds in breast cancer pathway. Here green solid line indicates the action of natural compounds as inhibitor, while green dotted line represents the upregulation induced by natural compounds.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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