Biomarker assessment in nutritional modulation of oxidative stress-induced cancer development by lipid-related bioactive molecules.

Cancer, a leading cause of death, can be prevented by different nutrients, in accordance to epidemiological and experimental data. Cancer chemoprevention might involve different dietary substances, which can counteract genetic damage and modulate the acquisition of a neoplastic phenotype. Critical to this process is redox cellular homeostasis, with antioxidants and essential biomolecules being the most promising functional compounds of the diet. Nutritional interventions require accurate biomarkers in order to evaluate their appropriateness. Such parameters may be biological targets involved in the oncogenetic process, and biochemical changes deriving from the organic response to tumours, which can be considered as endpoints of dietary interventions. This review will thus focus on patents on recent progress in the development of redox-related anticancer nutritional interventions involving lipophilic compounds, and of biological markers for evaluating them, with their scientific basis being reviewed.