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Senior Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements
Broccoli, Cauliflower Fight Genetic Colon Cancer
Cancer-fighting
ability of sulforaphane gets another passing score
 May 17, 2006 – There is a new reason senior
citizens need to eat vegetables, in particularly broccoli and
cauliflower. A new study at Rutgers shows that these vegetables have
natural ingredients that may reduce the risk of developing hereditary
cancers.
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Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements |
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A research team led by Rutgers' Ah-Ng Tony Kong has
revealed that these widely consumed cruciferous vegetables – so called
because their four-petal flowers resemble crosses – are abundant in
sulforaphane (SFN).
This compound had previously been shown to inhibit
some cancers in rodents induced by carcinogens – substances or agents
external to the body. Kong's investigations, however, focused on whether
SFN might inhibit the occurrence of hereditary cancers – those arising
from one's genetic makeup.
The American Cancer Society estimates that more
than two-thirds of cancer may be prevented through lifestyle
modification, and nearly one-third of these cancer occurrences can be
attributed to diet alone.
The American Institute of Cancer Research estimates
that if the only change people made was to increase their daily intake
of fruit and vegetables to five servings each day, cancer rates would
decline by as much as 20%. Epidemiological studies provide evidence that
dietary intake of crucifers protects against cancer more effectively
than total fruit and vegetable intake.
Consumption of three servings of crucifers or more
per week have previously been found to significantly decrease the risk
for certain cancers. Crucifers contain sulforaphane and
indole-3-carbinol (13C), both shown to have anticancer properties.
"Our research has substantiated the connection
between diet and cancer prevention, and it is now clear that the
expression of cancer-related genes can be influenced by chemopreventive
compounds in the things we eat," said Kong, a professor of pharmaceutics
in the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers, The State University
of New Jersey.
Chemopreventive properties are those that prevent,
stop or reverse the development of cancer. In a study published online
in the journal Carcinogenesis, Kong and his colleagues used a mouse
model for human colon cancer to demonstrate the chemopreventive power of
SFN and explain how it works to thwart cancer at the biomolecular level.
The researchers employed a specially bred strain of
mice (labeled Apc/Min/+) that carry a mutation that switches off a gene
(Apc) that suppresses tumors. This is the same gene known to be directly
implicated in the development of most colon cancers in humans. When the
gene is inactivated in the mice, polyps, which lead to tumors, appear
spontaneously in the small intestine. Experiments using these mice can
help in designing human clinical trials that can lead to new treatments
for colon cancer in humans.
Two groups of mice were fed diets supplemented with
SFN for three weeks, one group receiving 300 parts per million (ppm) of
SFN and the other getting 600 ppm. "Our results clearly demonstrated
that those mice fed with an SFN-supplemented diet developed
significantly fewer and smaller tumors," Kong said.
After the three weeks, the average number of polyps
in the small intestine in each mouse decreased more than 25 percent in
those on the 300 ppm diet and 47 percent in the 600 ppm treatment group,
as compared to control animals who had received no SFN.
"Our results showed that SFN produced its cancer
preventive effects in the mice by inducing apoptosis (programmed cell
death) and inhibiting proliferation of the tumors; however, it was not
clear what mechanism SFN employs to accomplish this," Kong said.
Using biomarkers (indicator molecules) associated
with apoptosis and proliferation, Kong's team found that SFN suppressed
certain enzymes or kinases that are highly expressed both in the mice
and in patients with colon cancer. The researchers concluded that this
enzymatic suppression activity is the likely basis for the
chemopreventive effects of SFN.
"Our study corroborates the notion that SFN has
chemopreventive activity. Based on these findings, we feel SFN should be
evaluated clinically for its chemopreventive potential in human patients
with Apc related colon cancers," Kong said.
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