Beyond the Antioxidant Activity of Dietary Polyphenols in Cancer: the Modulation of Estrogen Receptors (ERs) Signaling

The potential “health benefits” of dietary polyphenols have been ascribed to their direct antioxidant activity and their impact on the regulation of cell and tissue redox balance. However, because of the relative poor bioavailability of many of these compounds, their effects could not be easily explained by the antioxidant action, which may occur only at high circulating and tissue concentrations. Therefore, many efforts have been put forward to clarify the molecular mechanisms underlining the biological effect of polyphenols in physiological and pathological conditions. Polyphenols’ bioavailability, metabolism, and their effects on enzyme, membrane, and/or nuclear receptors and intracellular transduction mechanisms may define the overall impact of these compounds on cancer risk and progression, which is still debated and not yet clarified. Polyphenols are able to bind to estrogen receptor α (ERα) and β (ERβ), and therefore induce biological effects in human cells through mimicking or inhibiting the action of endogenous estrogens, even at low concentrations. In this work, the role and effects of food-contained polyphenols in hormone-related cancers will be reviewed, mainly focusing on the different polyphenols’ mechanisms of action with particular attention on their estrogen receptor-based effects, and on the consequences of such processes on tumor progression and development.