Research progress on the anti-breast cancer mechanisms of caffeic acid and its derivatives

XIE Chufei; WANG Wenjing; ZHAO Lichun

doi:10.13506/j.cnki.jpr.2025.10.011

Abstract：Caffeic acid(CA)is a naturally occurring phenolic acid compound widely found in coffee beans,tea,fruits,and propolis.It exhibits various biological activities,including antioxidant,anti-inflammatory,cytotoxic,and anti-tumor effects.In recent years,research on CA and its structurally diverse derivatives in the field of breast cancer has attracted sig-nificant attention.Research indicates that CA exerts anti-tumor effects through multiple mechanisms,including inhibiting cell proliferation,inducing apoptosis,suppressing metastasis and invasion,and enhancing chemosensitivity,with these effects validated in multiple in vitro and in vivo studies.Notably,CA modulates multiple critical molecular pathways-including nu-clear factor-kappa B(NF-κB),phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B(PI3K/Akt),epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT),and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)—thereby intervening in the development and progression of breast cancer.Furthermore,reactive oxygen species(ROS)exhibit a dual role in CA-mediated tumor regulation:they not only alleviate oxidative damage via antioxidant effects but can also promote ROS accumulation under specific conditions to induce apoptosis,demonstrating a concurrent"antioxidant-prooxidant"mechanism.This review comprehensively summarized recent advances in the study of CA and its key derivatives in breast cancer,with a focused analysis of their molecular mech-anisms and structure-activity relationship optimization strategies.The synthesis aims to provide theoretical foundations for further research and drug development of these compounds as potential therapeutic candidates for breast cancer.