• Substitutes of plant extracts for chemical treatments in breast cancer during pregnancy
  • Yasamin Sanati Sichani,1,* Niloofar Soleimani,2
    1. Bachelor student of plant biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences and Technologies, University of Isfahan, Iran
    2. Young Researchers and Elite Club, Falavarjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran.


  • Introduction: Considering the prevalence of breast cancer in most countries of the world, one of the most widely used methods that help to treat cancer is CAR T cell therapy. This method can cure the disease, but it causes severe side effects and sometimes causes death. Also, we cannot use this method in the treatment of solid tumors. New synthetic molecules that provide new features to T cells are chimeric antigen receptors. Breast cancer surgery is possible in all trimesters and radiotherapy is not an obstacle after the first period of pregnancy. Chemotherapy is started from the twelfth week of pregnancy, but the targeted treatment of endocrine glands and HER2 is prohibited throughout pregnancy. Plants that contain polyphenols, brassinosteroids, and taxols have anti-cancer properties and are used in the treatment of most diseases. Polyphenols induce carcinogenesis through direct binding polyphenol-regulated acetylation, methylation, or phosphorylation. Curcumin, which is extracted from the rhizome of Curcuma longa L., is a type of polyphenol. Curcumin suppresses the expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in the treatment of cancer cells in different cell groups through interaction with different stimuli. It is hoped that herbal extracts can be a substitute for chemical drugs and their harm.
  • Methods: The data contained in this article are taken from several articles published in full forms (original, review, and case reports/series studies) from Google Scholar from 2019 to 2023  And the subjects that changed the main axis were removed.
  • Results: By evaluating the information obtained from the physical examination of the breast in connection with pregnancy or breastfeeding, the diagnosis of breast cancer can be made easier, because the hormones of pregnancy lead to an increase in the size of the breast, an increase in the density and firmness of the breasts. Treatment through CAR T cells is a complex process that deals with several steps such as manufacturing CAR T cells, lymphatic chemotherapy, injection of therapeutic cells, and management of short-term or long-term toxicities. Creating the potential of life-threatening toxicities, production of specific pathogenic products, high cost, and incomplete response to the disease are other disadvantages of this method. Through the binding property of nanobodies, we can design chimeric receptors so that engineered T cells with receptors have high detection power in identifying breast cancer cells. This method cannot be used in solid tumors in blood malignancies, the cellular level of the c-Met molecule was expressed in 50% of breast tumors. During pregnancy, curcumin protects trophoblast cells, reduces oxidative stress, and improves pregnancy. Also, curcumin is used as an alternative treatment for GDM. Curcumin can prevent FGR-induced inflammation and insulin resistance by regulating insulin signaling pathways. PGMD nanoparticles trap curcumin and increase its bioavailability to breast cancer cell lines. Nanoparticles with a size of less than 200 nm can last longer in blood circulation and accumulate in tumor areas. These particles facilitate absorption by cancer cells.
  • Conclusion: The drugs used during hormone therapy are harmful to the developing fetus. Treatment of breast cancer in women causes a severe decrease in fertility and increasing age increases its probability. Curcumin is used in the treatment of various cancers, including breast cancer in pregnant women, to overcome the chemical disadvantages of other methods such as car T-cell therapy.
  • Keywords: Breast cancer, Fertility, Car T cells, Curcumin