Food habits, lifestyle, genetic background in tumor initiation and progression of the reproductive system

This study is focused on the comprehension and understanding of the progression phases linked to food supplements in tumors of the female reproductive system (specifically triple-negative breast and ovarian cancers). In this context, the present research project aimed to investigate the antitumoral properties of a non-edible part of the olive tree, which supposes one of the most representative sources of the Mediterranean Diet components: the Olive leaf. One of the primordial goals was to study the impact of an Olive leaf extract (OLE) and its compounds in the mitochondrial metabolism and the overall oxidative stress signaling, potentially attributable to their polyphenol content and that may result interesting in the cancer pathogenesis. The nutraceutical was used in two in vitro malignant triple-negative human breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines, MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468, and on a couple of highly pernicious human ovarian cancer cell lines (OVCAR-3 and OVCAR-8). Eventual toxicity was also tested in a healthy human corneal epithelial cell line (HCEpiC) to reveal the safe use of OLE in normal cells of epithelial origin. On these tumor models -two with the most elevated risk of developing metastasis, bad prognosis, and low survival rates- the pathways involved in the control of cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, and death/apoptosis have been investigated, as well as the effects of these extracts on the energetic cellular metabolism and redox status.