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©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Oncol. Oct 10, 2014; 5(4): 705-712
Published online Oct 10, 2014. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v5.i4.705
Published online Oct 10, 2014. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v5.i4.705
Phytoestrogens and prevention of breast cancer: The contentious debate
Iqra Bilal, Avidyuti Chowdhury, Juliet Davidson, Saffron Whitehead, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, St George’s University of London, London SW17 0RE, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Bilal I, Chowdhury A, Davidson J were MBBS project students in my laboratory and contributed towards collecting and assessing the references and synthesising the available data; Whitehead S wrote the review based on the students assessment.
Correspondence to: Saffron Whitehead, Professor, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, St George’s University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 0RE, United Kingdom. saffron@sgul.ac.uk
Telephone: +44-20-88707287 Fax: + 44-20-87250993
Received: December 23, 2013
Revised: April 28, 2014
Accepted: May 16, 2014
Published online: October 10, 2014
Revised: April 28, 2014
Accepted: May 16, 2014
Published online: October 10, 2014
Core Tip
Core tip: Phytoestrogens have multiple actions within target cells, including the epigenome, which could be beneficial to the development and progression of breast cancer. In this brief review the action of phytoestrogens on oestrogen receptors, cell signalling pathways, regulation of the cell cycle, apoptosis, steroid synthesis and epigenetic events in relation to breast cancer are discussed. The difficulties in interpreting experimental evidence relating to the beneficial effects of phytoestrogens in light of dietary/supplementary intake and bioavailability of ingested phytoestrogens is also addressed.