Oncological Functional Nutrition: Phytochemical...

Breast cancer research based mainly on epidemiological studies on phytosubstance or plant-derived whole food has not provided convincing anticancer effects. It deals only with the effects of general eating habits, such as Mediterranean diet, fruits, vegetable, olive oil, or fiber intake on breast cancer incidence in evaluated cohorts. On the other hand, there are well-defined animal oncological studies presenting valid and significant results. Based on preclinical data, it seems that preferring plant-based functional foods instead of single phytochemicals is a preferred approach in the cancer disease management programs. However, preclinical evaluations and well-defined and controlled clinical studies analyzing the superiority of anticancer effectivity of one over the other are needed to determine their potential use in the clinical management of breast cancer [179]. Amongst the most relevant candidate plant-based whole foods with significant anticancer activities in mammary gland in vivo should be included: chlorella [13], dark fruit peels [15], oregano [16], clove buds [17], thyme (Kubatka et al., unpublished results), rosemary [201], soy germ [202], blueberries [203, 204], blackberries [205], pomegranate [206, 207], or caraway [208]. Regarding isolated phytochemicals, only curcumin [209] and epigallocatechin-3-gallate [210] showed significant anticancer effects in animal models of breast carcinoma.

Oncological Functional Nutrition: Phytochemical...

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