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Green veg help fight breast cancer
[Posted: Thu 12/10/2006 - www.irishhealth.com]
Scientists have discovered that a molecule found in vegetables such as cabbage and broccoli, can inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells and could be used in conjunction with drugs to help fight the disease.
It has long been known that eating a balanced diet, including fresh fruit and vegetables, provides a number of health benefits and can help prevent some cancers. However more precise evidence is now emerging as to the benefits of specific substances found in various foods.
Scientists at the University of Leicester have been looking past the essential nutrients found in plants, to the thousands of other biologically active molecules they hold. One such molecule is indole-3-carbinol (I3C), which is thought to inhibit cancer development.
The research team decided to investigate the impact of I3C on four different types of breast cancer cells. They found that the molecule altered the receptors in three of the cell types. This change could make these cancer cells more vulnerable to anticancer drugs, which also target these receptors. This would result in the drugs becoming more effective.
"Although we need to carry out further studies on tumours removed from patients, the potential benefits are clear. Dietary agents are kind to normal cells at doses which can slow down or kill cancer cells. Combining them with drugs may enhance the drugs' effectiveness and could allow reduced doses to be given to patients. Many chemotherapeutic drugs are toxic substances and the smaller the dose, the better for the patient", explained lead researcher, Prof Margaret Manson.
As dietary substances like I3C have a proven track record of being safe for the patient, Prof Manson said that she hoped the journey to clinical trials would be 'relatively straightforward'.
I3C is naturally present in cruciferous vegetables, which include cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, kale, parsnips and turnips. However the doses that would be required in potential breast cancer treatments would have to be formulated to ensure that they were high enough, delivered in the correct way and were reaching the right areas.
It is also thought that I3C may have a similar impact on colon cancer cells.
"This study supports the growing evidence that food can be important in altering our susceptibility to cancer and possibly survival from it and may help to explain why fruits and vegetables are so important", said Dr Sheila Bingham of the UK Medical Research Council, which funded the study.
Details of these findings are published in the medical journal, Carcinogenesis.
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