Breast Cancer Prevention and Treatment with Dietary Agents Affecting Angiogenesis: Progress and Promise

Breast cancer, a worldwide epidemic, remains the second leading cause of cancerrelated death in women in the USA. High priority should be given to research aimed at the identification and development of natural agents that prevent and control breast cancer. Angiogenesis, the formation of new capillaries from preexisting blood vessels, is a key component in breast tumor insurgence. There are multiple biochemical and molecular steps involved in breast tumor angiogenesis and each step provides a challenge and opportunity for therapeutic intervention. A wealth of evidence links dietary habits with risk and behavior of breast cancer. Several food constituents have been shown to possess potent growth inhibitory effects on breast cancer cells in vitro and preventive or suppressive action on mammary gland cancer in vivo, supporting numerous epidemiological findings. Inhibition of angiogenesis appears to be a common and novel mechanism for these food-derived agents. This chapter highlights the role of angiogenesis in breast cancer and how chemically diverse dietary agents prevent or treat breast cancer by targeting various components of angiogenesis. The benefits, challenges and future directions in the use of antiangiogenic dietary compounds in the prevention and intervention of breast cancer are also discussed.

Keywords: Breast Cancer, Dietary Agents, Angiogenesis