Hormone-dependent cancers, effect

In order to get recent advances on the effects of phytoestrogens on hormonal-dependent diseases as well as on human supplementation trials, it might be useful to refer to http //www.venus-ca.org/ (EU-funded project on dietary exposure to phytoestrogens and related compounds and effects on skeletal tissues) http //www.phytos.org (EU-funded project on the prevention of osteoporosis by nutritional phytoestrogens) http //www.phytoprevent.org (EU-funded project on the role of phytoestrogens in the prevention of breast and prostate cancer) and http //www.nutrition.tum.de/isoheart.htm (EU-funded project on cardiovascular health of postmenopausal women). 

Several reports have described the anticancer activity of curcumin in a variety of cancer cell lines. In vitro studies have established the activity for curcumin against breast, gastric, hepatic, pancreatic, colorectal, urinary bladder, kidney, prostate, cervical, ovarian, uterine, lung, oral, thymic, and skin cancers. Besides these cancer types, curcumin has shown in vitro therapeutic efficacy against hematological cancers including leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. One of our early studies established that the antiproliferative effect of curcumin in human breast cancer cell lines, including hormone-dependent, hormone-independent,... 

Tumors that are steroid hormone-sensitive may be either (1) hormone-responsive, where the tumor regresses following treatment with a specific hormone (2) hormone-dependent, where removal of a hormonal stimulus causes tumor regression or (3) both. Hormone treatment of responsive tumors is usually only palliative, except in the case of the cytotoxic effect of glucocorticoids (for example, prednisone) on lymphomas. Removal of hormonal stimuli from hormone-dependent tumors can be accomplished by surgery, for example, in the case of orchiectomy for patients with advanced prostate cancer, or by drugs, for example in the case of breast cancer, treatment with the antiestrogen... 

High consumption of legumes, especially soya beans, which are rich sources of phytoestrogens, is associated with lower incidence of breast and uterine cancer, as well as a lower incidence of osteoporosis. The estrogenic action is probably responsible for the effects on the development of osteoporosis, whereas three factors may be involved in the effect on hormone-dependent cancer ... 

Janik, P., Briand, P. and Hartmann, N. R. (1975). The effect of estrone-progesterone treatment on cell proliferation kinetics of hormone- dependent GR mouse mammaiy tumors. Cancer Res. 35, 3698-3704. 

Exemestane is effective and selective for treating some pustmcnopausal women with hormone-dependent breast cancer, whose disea.se has progressed following tamoxifen treatment. Adverse reactions include a low incidence of... 

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