Abstract

Ovarian cancer is the leading gynecologic malignancy with more than 22,000 new cases and 15,000 deaths estimated each year. It is usually detected in late stages with poor prognosis due to lack of sufficiently accurate screening tests. Epidemiological studies continue to support the notion that consumption of cruciferous vegetables reduces the risk of ovarian cancer. In the present review article, we describe the anti-cancer effects of 3, 3’-diindolylmethane (DIM), a compound present in cruciferous vegetables, against ovarian cancer. DIM targets multiple aspects of cancer such as cellcycle regulation and survival, including EGFR-JAK2-STAT3 signaling, checkpoint activation, caspase activation, endoplasmic reticulum stress, autophagy and anoikis. This broad spectrum of anti-cancer activities in conjunction with low systemic toxicity accentuates the translational value of DIM in cancer therapy. Together, our pre-clinical studies demonstrate that DIM has activity against ovarian cancer and hence should be further investigated in clinical setting to exploit its therapeutic potential.

Keywords: Diindolylmethane, cisplatin, STAT3, apoptosis, angiogenesis, anoikis, ER stress, autophagy, metastasis