Phytotherapy for breast cancer

Abstract Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death in humans worldwide and is the most common type of cancer in women. Several factors are responsible for the development of breast cancer in women. Disturbances in various molecular pathways and the concomitant altered expression of several molecular markers have been well reported. Despite the potent beneficial effects of various therapeutic strategies such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, the associated detrimental side effects of these strategies has spurred the scientific community to search for alternatives. Phytotherapy is one such potential therapeutic strategy involving the usage of traditional medicinal plants to target various molecular markers altered during cancer and thereby to protect from cancer without inducing side effects. In this chapter we explain the possible beneficial effects of a few traditional Indian medical plants against breast cancer.