Chapter 90 – Cancer Chemoprevention by Dietary Polyphenols: Role for Epigenetics and Inflammation

Cancer remains a major health problem and is one of the leading causes of deaths worldwide. It is a complex disease which can originate from several causes, and genome-wide association studies have indicated already the existence of several genetic variants that might contribute to the initiation or the progression of the disease. More recently, chronic inflammatory responses and epigenetic modulations came into the picture, and are being envisioned as key players in the development of most human cancers. Nowadays, it is generally accepted that lifestyle, including nutrition, can tremendously influence the overall health conditions. Numerous clinical and epidemiological studies could underline the beneficial role of several nutritional compounds including polyphenols. The most studied and promising examples of these dietary polyphenols include epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) from green tea, genistein from soybean, resveratrol from grapes and curcumin from turmeric. In a given compound, dose- and cell type-dependent manner, anti-inflammatory as well as epigenetics-regulatory functions could be attributed to these polyphenolic compounds, allowing for a potential therapeutic value. In this review we discuss the potential chemopreventive effect exerted by nutritional intake of phytotherapeutic compounds, more specifically dietary polyphenols, in cancer development via their effects on inflammatory and epigenetic pathways.