Inhibitory effects of Indole-3-carbinol on invasion and migration in human breast cancer cells

Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) is a promising phytochemical agent in chemoprevention of breast cancer. Our present study is the first description of I3C that significantly inhibits the cell adhesion, spreading and invasion associated with an up-regulation of PTEN (a tumor suppressor gene) and E-cadherin (a regulator of cell-cell adhesion) expression in T47-D human breast cancer cells. Therefore, I3C exhibits anti-cancer activities by suppressing breast tumor cell growth and metastatic spread. Metastatic breast cancer is a devastating problem, clinical application of I3C as a potent chemopreventive agent may be helpful in limiting breast cancer invasion and metastasis.