Mechanistic Overview on Therapeutic Potential of Phenols Targeting the Breast Cancer: Molecular Insights and Future Road to Drug Design

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy globally. It is associated with genetic and lifestyle risk factors. Many chemotherapeutic agents are currently available for breast cancer. Despite their moderate efficacy in breast cancer therapy, many of these chemotherapeutic agents are associated with adverse effects. A few patients also have the possibility of developing resistance to these drugs over time. The resistance to these chemotherapeutic agents illustrates the necessity to seek novel therapeutic strategies. Phenols are a class of plant-derived compounds that have an aromatic ring with at least one hydroxyl group. They are well known for their antioxidant, antiinflammatory, and anti-proliferative effects. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables has a high content of polyphenols. Various <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> studies in the past two decades have demonstrated the therapeutic potential of phenol in breast cancer. Each of these polyphenol compounds has promising potential to modulate breast cancer in various stages, including proliferation, angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis. This review focuses on the various <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> studies done in both phenolic compounds and phenolic extracts and the efficacy of phenols in modulating breast carcinogenesis by various mechanisms. The potential of phenols to inhibit various oncogenes and tumor-associated proteins is also discussed. The ability of polyphenols to sensitize hormone-resistant and chemoresistant breast cancer cell lines to various chemotherapeutic agents has also been highlighted.