Breast cancer is globally the most common invasive
cancer in women and remains one of the leading causes of
cancer-related deaths. Surgery,
radiotherapy,
chemotherapy,
immunotherapy, and endocrine
therapy are currently the main treatments for this
cancer type. However, some
breast cancer patients are prone to drug resistance related to
chemotherapy or
immunotherapy, resulting in limited treatment efficacy. Consequently, traditional Chinese medicinal materials (TCMMs) as natural products have become an attractive source of novel drugs. In this review, we summarized the current knowledge on the active components of animal-derived TCMMs, including Ophiocordycepssinensis-derived
cordycepin, the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of O.sinensis,
norcantharidin (NCTD),
Chansu,
bee venom, deer antlers, Ostreagigas, and
scorpion venom, with reference to marked anti-
breast cancer effects due to regulating cell cycle arrest, proliferation, apoptosis,
metastasis, and drug resistance. In future studies, the underlying mechanisms for the antitumor effects of these components need to be further investigated by utilizing multi-omics technologies. Furthermore, large-scale clinical trials are necessary to validate the efficacy of bioactive constituents alone or in combination with chemotherapeutic drugs for
breast cancer treatment.