Abstract
Background: Chemotherapeutic options for management of post-menopausal colon cancer are associated with systemic toxicity, therapy resistance and survival of cancer stem cells. These aspects promote progression of metastatic disease. In post-menopausal colon cancer estrogens are hypothesized to play a protective role, and phytoestrogenic nutritional herbs may provide valuable mechanistic leads for growth inhibition of cancer. Investigations using cellular models relevant to this cancer subtype provide mechanistic evidence for carcinogenesis, role of estrogens in post-menopausal colon cancer and identify susceptible molecular targets.
Objectives: This mini-review provides a systematic discussion of published evidence on i) experimental systems developed from colon carcinoma and colonic epithelium that facilitate identification of mechanistic link between Wnt/β-catenin signaling and estrogen receptor signaling, ii) inhibitory efficacy of natural products such as dietary phytochemicals and Chinese nutritional herbs and iii) Conceptual and technical limitations that define rationale for future research.
Conclusions: Molecular characterization and mechanistic leads have validated the experimental systems to investigate growth inhibitory efficacy of natural products. Major limitations provide rationale for future research that facilitate clinical relevance and translatability of the data.