Potential roles of berries in the prevention of breast cancer progression

Breast cancer (BC) encompasses a collection of different diseases characterized by different biological and pathological features, clinical presentations, responses to treatments, clinical behaviors and outcomes. BC remains the most prevalent cancer type among women globally with over 2 million new cases in 2018. Major treatment strategies for BC consist of radiotherapy, surgery and chemotherapy, either separately or in combination. However, bioactive compounds present in fruits and vegetables have been demonstrated to exert multiple anti-tumoral effects, such as inhibition of cell proliferation, modulation of cell signaling pathways and gene expressions and induction of apoptosis. Accordingly, berries are gaining increasing attentions for their chemopreventive and therapeutic potential against several cancers, including BC. Their composition includes dietary fiber, organic acids, certain minerals in trace amounts, some vitamins and phytochemicals (such as, phenolic compounds). All of these components, individually or combined, are associated with their antioxidant properties and responsible for their health benefits. Therefore, the aim of this review is to discuss the recent evidence, obtained from in vitro , in vivo and human studies, on the potential roles exerted by different phenolic compounds or different phenolic extracts from berries in the prevention of BC progression.