Fig. 1.

A steady-state of elevated RONS and pro-inflammatory factors is a formative driver of colon carcinogenesis. The thesis of this review is that colon cancer chemopreventative foods and their active constituents work through ameliorating the molecular pathways that are dysregulated by a continous cycle of pro-inflammatory factors and free radicals (depicted by the red arrows). The initiating cause of inflammations unclear, but the fecal microbiota is one candidate. Oxidative stress activates a variety of transcription factors including NF-κB, p53, β-Ctn-Wnt, and Nrf2 which results in the expression of over 5,000 different genes, including those for growth factors, inflammatory factors, and cell cycle regulatory molecules. The paramount feature of the vast majority of chemopreventive substances is their ability to antagonize pro-inflammatory factors and reduce the level of RONS. Therefore, it is expected that molecular pathways most commonly affect by chemopreventive agents would be those that are dysregulated by pro-inflammatory factors and free radicals. Green arrow signifies up-regulation and blue arrows signify progression of processes