Inflammation, Oxidative Stress, and Cancer: Dietary Approaches for Cancer Prevention PDF

Preface

The major impetus for this book stems from the recent explosion of research on nutritional/dietary phytochemicals-investigating their mechanisms of signaling/gene expression and their impact on diseases including cancer. The second impetus came from participating in a symposium titled "Diet, Inflammation and Cancer" for the American Institute Cancer Research (AICR) Annual Research Conference on Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and Cancer, October 21 and 22, 2010, in Washington, DC, which triggered a lot of discussion.

Increasing scientific evidence suggests that a majority of diseases including cancer are driven by oxidative stress and inflammation, attributed to environmental factors (viruses, carcinogens, among others). These factors impinge on genetic materials, driving either genetic mutations and/or epigenetically modifying expression of key regulatory genes (DNAs, RNAs, enzymes, receptors, and cofactors, among others). These genetics/epigenetics events can occur as early as during gestational fetal development. The major questions remain as to how dietary phytochemical factors can biochemically interact with such genetic/epigenetic events.

The main purpose of this book was to assemble a group of internationally well-recognized scientific experts to examine and summarize the latest developments on the various dietary phytochemicals. As a result, this book is divided into nine subsections, beginning with the basic mechanisms of inflammation/oxidative stress–driven cancer initiation and development. This is followed by cellular signal transduction, molecular targets and biomarkers of dietary cancer-preventive phytochemicals, and their potential challenges with in vivo absorption and pharmacokinetics of these phytochemicals. Then the various classes/groups of phytochemicals are examined. These include vitamins A, D, and E; omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids; flavonoids and polyphenols; garlic organosulfur compounds and cruciferous glucusinolates; and selenium, traditional Chinese herbal medicines, and alpha lipoic acid. The last section covers the latest developments in phyto-epigenomics and some future perspective on the development of phytochemicals in disease prevention and treatment.

The intended audience includes graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and scientists working in the areas of nutrition, dietary phytochemicals, inflammation, oxidative stress, antioxidants in general, and cancer more specifically. Furthermore, the general public will benefit from the great overview, comprehensive analysis, and distillation of concepts discussed in this book.