Chemoprevention Against Breast Cancer With Geinistein and Reservatrol
Abstract
Breast cancer remains a destructive disease and a leading killer among women in the United States and throughout the world. It has been recognized that genetic alterations (such as BRCA mutations) account for only 10-15% of breast cancer. Thus, environmental exposures, especially diet, can play a very important role in the causation or prevention of this disease. We believe that the dietary polyphenols genistein, the major phytoestrogen in soy, and resveratrol, a component of red grapes and red wine, can protect a woman against mammary carcinogenesis. We, and others, have shown that dietary exposure to genistein or soy, especially early in life, can protect against chemically-induced carcinogenesis. We demonstrated that prepubertal exposure to genistein caused a significant reduction in terminal end buds, the most susceptible structures for mammary carcinogenesis. We and others have also shown a protection against breast cancer in a chemically-induced rat model with dietary exposure to resveratrol (data unpublished, 4-5). Resveratrol caused a significant reduction in mammary tumor multiplicity and increased tumor latency. The epithelial cells of the terminal end buds show a significant reduction in proliferation and increase in apoptosis, which might help to explain the chemoprotection that we observed. With observations from the tumorigenesis, mammary gland maturation, and cell proliferation experiments, we proposed to look for changes at the molecular level that could account for the protection we observe with dietary genistein and resveratrol. We propose to focus on steroid and growth factor receptor pathways, and the steroid receptor coactivator family, a possible link between critical sex steroid and growth factor pathways. Understanding the in vivo mechanisms of these polyphenols will allow them to be used to protect women against breast cancer.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA462396
Entities
People
- Coral A. Lamartiniere
- Timothy G. Whitsett Jr.
Organizations
- University of Alabama