Marchio Vittoria, Augimeri Giuseppina, Morelli Catia, Vivacqua Adele, Giordano Cinzia, Catalano Stefania, Sisci Diego, Barone Ines, Bonofiglio Daniela
Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, Arcavacata Di Rende, 87036, Cosenza, Italy.
Centro Sanitario, University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci, Arcavacata Di Rende (CS), 87036, Rende, Cosenza, Italy.
Cell Mol Biol Lett. 2025 Jan 25;30(1):11. doi: 10.1186/s11658-025-00694-x.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed type of cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death in women worldwide. Highly targeted therapies have been developed for different subtypes of breast cancer, including hormone receptor (HR)-positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer. However, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and metastatic breast cancer disease are primarily treated with chemotherapy, which improves disease-free and overall survival, but does not offer a curative solution for these aggressive forms of breast cancer. Moreover, the development of chemoresistance is a major cause of therapeutic failure in this neoplasia, leading to disease relapse and patient death. In addition, chemotherapy's adverse side effects may substantially worsen health-related quality of life. Therefore, to improve the outcome of patients with breast cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy, several therapeutic options are under investigation, including the combination of chemotherapeutic drugs with natural compounds. Omega-3 (ω-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), including docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids, have drawn attention for their antitumoral properties and their preventive activities against chemotherapy-induced toxicities in breast cancer. A literature review was conducted on PubMed using keywords related to breast cancer, omega-3, chemoresistance, and chemotherapy. This review aims to provide an overview of the molecular mechanisms driving breast cancer chemoresistance, focusing on the role of ω-3 PUFAs in these recognized cellular paths and presenting current findings on the effects of ω-3 PUFAs combined with chemotherapeutic drugs in breast cancer management.
乳腺癌是全球女性中最常被诊断出的癌症类型，也是癌症相关死亡的主要原因。针对不同亚型的乳腺癌，包括激素受体（HR）阳性和人表皮生长因子受体2（HER2）阳性乳腺癌，已经开发出了高度靶向的疗法。然而，三阴性乳腺癌（TNBC）和转移性乳腺癌主要通过化疗进行治疗，化疗可改善无病生存期和总生存期，但并不能为这些侵袭性乳腺癌提供治愈方案。此外，化疗耐药的产生是这种肿瘤治疗失败的主要原因，导致疾病复发和患者死亡。此外，化疗的不良副作用可能会严重恶化与健康相关的生活质量。因此，为了改善接受化疗的乳腺癌患者的治疗效果，正在研究几种治疗选择，包括将化疗药物与天然化合物联合使用。ω-3（ω-3）多不饱和脂肪酸（PUFA），包括二十二碳六烯酸和二十碳五烯酸，因其抗肿瘤特性以及对乳腺癌化疗诱导毒性的预防作用而受到关注。使用与乳腺癌、ω-3、化疗耐药和化疗相关的关键词在PubMed上进行了文献综述。本综述旨在概述驱动乳腺癌化疗耐药的分子机制，重点关注ω-3多不饱和脂肪酸在这些公认的细胞途径中的作用，并介绍ω-3多不饱和脂肪酸与化疗药物联合应用于乳腺癌治疗的当前研究结果。
