Targeting obesity-related inflammation in skin cancer: molecular and epigenetic insights for cancer chemoprevention by dietary phytochemicals

Non-melanoma skin cancer(NMSC) is one of the most common cancers in the US, although the role of obesity in skin cancer remains unclear. In vivo studies have consistently demonstrated that obese mice challenged with UVB radiation show increased skin tumorigenesis in comparison with leaner control mice. Growing evidence suggests that enhanced inflammation, oxidative stress and impaired apoptosis may play important roles in the development of skin cancer. Interventions such as voluntary exercise and the surgical removal of parametrial fat have been demonstrated to be effective in reducing adipose tissue that may influence the development of skin cancer; however, these interventions are not achievable in all obese patients. Therefore, the use of dietary natural phytochemicals that may modify and reverse the deregulated molecular and epigenetic events related to obesity and cancer development might represent a potential therapeutic modality due to their potential efficacy and low toxicity. In this review, we aim to provide the molecular and epigenetic basis of the NMSC-obesity relationship and to highlight the potential anti-cancer chemopreventive benefits of dietary phytochemicals such as sulforaphane and epigallocatechin-3-gallate.