The role of nutritional components in the breast cancer prevention and treatment

Risk of breast cancer (BC) development reduces in regular consumption of soy protein, green tea, fruits and vegetables, dietary fibers, carotenoids, vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids according to meta-analyses results. Objective. To describe the molecular and epigenetic mechanisms of the influence of nutritional components on breast cancer development. Materials and methods. The search was done in eLibrary, Scopus, PubMed databases for the period from 2003 to 2025 by the following keywords: «breast cancer», «food», «diet», «epigenetics», «miRNA». Results. Experimental studies indicate a variety of antitumor effects of different nutritional components on BC cells. The interaction mechanisms of resveratrol, epigallocatechin and gallic acid with mobile genetic elements that play role in pathogenesis of the disease have been identified. Nutrient materials can both stimulate and prevent the development of BC influencing the factors of apoptosis, proliferation, migration and inflammation of cells, as well as specific microRNAs expression and histone and DNA modification enzymes. Conclusion. The effect of nutrients on breast cancer development has been determined in a number of meta-analyses and confirmed in many experiments. It allows to use nutrient materials in the clinical setting in a targeted manner.