Hormonal and genetic risk factors for breast cancer

A Concise Review on Natural Products and Their Derivatives for Breast Cancer Treatment

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. Among other cancers, breast cancer has been found to produce maximum number of cases in 2020. Different factors including geographical, genetic, hormonal, oral contraceptives and modern lifestyle could be responsible for the development of breast cancer and different pathways can be targeted for breast cancer treatment. The various conventional approaches used for the treatment of breast cancer including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormone and immunotherapy. But due to the side effects associated with these conventional treatments such as non-selectivity, multidrug resistance and bioavailability, there is a need for the development of better therapeutic agents for breast cancer treatment. Several natural products have been explored for breast cancer treatment. However, many of these natural products suffered from the limitations of poor water solubility and possess toxic side effects. To overcome these limitations, several structural analogs of natural products have been synthesized and possess potent anti-breast cancer effects with less side effects over their precursor molecules. In the present manuscript, we describe the pathogenesis of breast cancer, some potent natural products used in the treatment of breast cancer and their selected structural analogs possessing potent anti-breast cancer effects. Database such as Science direct, Pubmed and Google scholar were searched using keywords 'risk factors', 'screening methods','receptors', and 'natural products and derivatives', Registered clinical trials on selected natural products were also analyzed. Present study concludes that eight selected natural products and their derivatives possess wide potential to exhibit anti-breast cancer effects and could be explored further to develop better chemotherapeutic agents against breast cancer.

Vitamin D Receptor Gene Polymorphism: Association with Susceptibility to Early-Onset Breast Cancer in Iranian, BRCA1/2-Mutation Carrier and non-carrier Patients

Mounting evidences support that vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency is a risk factor of breast cancer. Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is expressed in more than 36 cell types in different organs as in cancerous cells. Numerous allelic variants of VDR gene have been identified in human populations. Association of FokI (rs2228570) and BsmI (rs1544410) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in VDR gene with the risk of breast cancer have been investigated in several studies, however, the published data are still inconsistent. Here, we investigated BsmI and FokI polymorphisms in Iranian young (≤ 35 years old) breast cancer patient with known BRCA1/2 germline mutations. VDR gene polymorphisms were detected by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis in a cohort of 203 breast cancer patients and 214 controls from Iran. There was a significant association between the bb and Bb genotypes of the BsmI and the increased risk of breast cancer (OR 1.74, CI 1.06-2.87 and OR 2.08, CI 1.31-3.29, respectively). This association was maintained in the subgroup of BRCA1/2 mutation non carriers (OR 1.90, CI 1.15-3.20 and OR 1.75, CI 1.07-2.87 for bb and Bb genotypes respectively) and in the subgroup of BRCA1/2 mutation non-carriers with a family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer (OR 1.81, CI 1.08-3.05 and OR 1.65, CI 1.00-2.70 for bb and Bb genotypes respectively). None of the FokI homozygous or heterozygous genotypes were associated with the risk of breast cancer. In summary, the BsmI polymorphism of VDR gene may be associated with the risk of breast cancer in Iranian women.

Role of Runx2 in breast cancer-mediated bone metastasis

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent forms of cancer in women. The currently available treatment for breast cancer is mostly curative except when it becomes metastatic. One of the major sites for metastasis of breast cancer is the bone. Homing of the circulating tumor cells is tightly regulated including a number of factors present in the cells and their microenvironment. Runx2, a transcription factor plays an important role in osteogenesis and breast cancer mediated bone metastases. One of the recent advances in molecular therapy includes the discovery of the small, non-coding microRNAs (miRNAs) and they target specific genes to reduce their expression at the post-transcriptional level. This review provides an outline of breast cancer mediated bone metastasis and summarizes the recent development on the regulation of Runx2 expression by miRNAs which can lead to novel molecular therapeutics for the same.

Assessment of Risk Factors of Obesity and Diet on Breast Cancer in Ankara, Turkey

OBJECTIVE

To determine the risk factors of obesity and diet on breast cancer in Ankara, Turkey.

METHODS

A case-controlled study was carried out on newly diagnosed 40 breast cancer patients [patient group (PC)] and 40 volunteer individuals [control group (CG)] with no diagnosis of cancer and history of cancer in the family with similar characteristics to the age and gender-matched patient group between March and July 2016. All the individuals were administered a questionnaire by face-to-face interview method.

RESULTS

The mean menarche age, age at first birth and menopause age were 13.0±1.17, 22.6±3.78 and 44.33±2.39 years in PG and 12.3±0.95, 21.6±2.99, 46.71±2.41 years in CG, respectively. The mean BMI values were determined as 28.1±6.75 kg/m² in PG and 30.1±6.18 kg/m² in CG (p>0.05). It was determined that intake of vitamin C and fiber decreases the risk of breast cancer. Also, eating quickly and smoking were risk factors for breast cancer (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

This study indicated that there are relationships between menarche age, menopause age, and age at first birth, eating quickly, smoking and breast cancer. Conversely, there are significant negative relationships between dietary fiber, vitamin C intake and breast cancer. As a result, it can be said that there is a link between breast cancer and lifestyle factors and a reduction in the risk of developing breast cancer can be achieved through changes in diet, one of the lifestyle factors.