Cancer and Vegetables
Articles relating to vegetables and cancerContents
*Eat Your Vegetables And Lessen Your Chances Of Developing Cancer
*Legume Compounds May Help Cancer Treatment
*Broccoli, Cauliflower And Genetic Cancer Broccoli
*UVa Researchers Seek To Unlock Broccoli's Cancer Fighting Secret
*Boiling Broccoli Ruins Its Anti-Cancer Properties
*Compounds That Color Fruits And Veggies May Protect Against Colon Cancer
*Legume Compounds May Help Cancer Treatment
*Broccoli, Cauliflower And Genetic Cancer Broccoli
*UVa Researchers Seek To Unlock Broccoli's Cancer Fighting Secret
*Boiling Broccoli Ruins Its Anti-Cancer Properties
*Compounds That Color Fruits And Veggies May Protect Against Colon Cancer
10 Feb 2006
Need another reason to eat your vegetables? New research shows that some of them contain chemicals that appear to enhance DNA repair in cells, which could lead to protection against cancer development, say Georgetown University Medical Center researchers.
Dr. Rosen is available for interviews with the news media and may be contacted at the number above. For a copy of the study, go to www.nature.com/bjc www.nature.com/bjc or contact the Office of Communications at 202-687-5100.
In a study published in the British Journal of Cancer (published by the research journal Nature) the researchers show that in laboratory tests, a compound called indole-3-carinol (I3C), found in broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage, and a chemical called genistein, found in soy beans, can increase the levels of BRCA1 and BRCA2 proteins that repair damaged DNA.
Although the health benefits of eating your vegetables--especially cruciferous ones, such as broccoli--aren't particularly new, this study is one of the first to provide a molecular explanation as to how eating vegetables could cut a person's risk of developing cancer, an association that some population studies have found, says the study's senior author, Eliot M. Rosen, MD, PhD, professor of oncology, cell biology, and radiation medicine at Georgetown's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.
"It is now clear that the function of crucial cancer genes can be influenced by compounds in the things we eat," Rosen says. "Our findings suggest a clear molecular process that would explain the connection between diet and cancer prevention."
In this study, Rosen exposed breast and prostate cancer cells to increasing doses of 13C and genistein, and found that these chemicals boosted production of BRCA1, as well as its sister repair protein, BRCA2. Mutations in either of these genes can lead to development of breast, Prostate Cancer and ovarian cancers.
Since decreased amounts of the BRCA proteins are seen in cancer cells, higher levels might prevent cancer from developing, Rosen says, adding that the ability of I3C and genistein to increase production of BRCA proteins could explain their protective effects.
http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=37493
Legume Compounds May Help Cancer Treatment
13 Apr 2006
The ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrative Legume Research (CILR) has lodged a complete patent application for compounds to treat cancer.
CILR researchers screened legumes (plants which obtain useable nitrogen from soil bacteria in their roots) for biological activity and they identified a number of compounds which could potentially prevent the formation of a blood supply to tumours. Without an adequate blood supply tumours stop growing and ultimately can regress.
The research has attracted major international interest for intensive collaboration and joint development.
The discovery has resulted in a formal research collaboration which is currently underway with French "CSIRO-equivalent" Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Co-investment discussions are also in progress with a New Zealand company.
The CILR formed a commercialisation business "Meristomics" last October to commercialise plant research discoveries. CILR's partner universities (the University of Queensland, Australian National University, University of Newcastle and University of Melbourne) passed on their commercialisation rights to Uniquest Pty Ltd, the University of Queensland's main commercialisation company.
Meristomics Chief Executive Officer Ian Harris said successful completion of this patent demonstrated that Meristomics was an effective model for commercialisation involving multiple partner universities.
"Through UniQuest, Meristomics had immediate access to substantial commercial expertise and is looking to build on its patent success by attracting further funding to progress the research," Mr Harris said.
The anti-cancer molecules are produced by legumes during the early symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria known as rhizobia. Rhizobia induce legumes to form tiny new root organs called "root nodules." The bacteria live in the nodules and provide the plant with useable nitrogen it can convert into proteins.
CILR Chief Investigator Professor Chris Parish's group, based at ANU's John Curtin School of Medical Research, developed the bioassay used to identify the compounds as potential therapeutic agents.
"We have identified several compounds derived from the legume interaction with rhizobium bacteria that show strong anti-angiogenic activity.
"They are promising therapeutic molecules which clearly warrant further investigation," Professor Parish said.
CILR Director Professor Peter Gresshoff said the current research success highlighted the importance of a critical mass of multidisciplinary biological scientists working together.
"The CILR was formed in 2003 through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centres of Excellence scheme to create the scale and focus required to build on existing research strengths through collaboration, and to be internationally competitive.
"ARC core funding and major support through Queensland Government Smart State research funding has been vital in building capacity. It has enabled this marvellous research outcome," Professor Gresshoff said.
http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=41402
Broccoli, Cauliflower And Genetic Cancer
20 May 2006
Need another reason to eat vegetables? A new study at Rutgers shows that certain vegetables - broccoli and cauliflower, in particular - have natural ingredients that may reduce the risk of developing hereditary cancers.
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.
"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.
http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=43622
Dietary Folate Intake May Decrease Risk Of Bladder Cancer
13 May 2006
UroToday.com - Genetic alterations, epigenetic events and environmental exposures all contribute to the development of bladder cancer. It is suggested that some factors, such as vitamins can decrease the risk of bladder cancer. Dr. Schabath and colleagues hypothesized that dietary folate, which is involved in DNA methylation may have a chemopreventive effect in the bladder. Their study results appeared in Nutrition and Cancer.
Between 1999 and 2003 bladder cancer cases and controls were accrued from clinics in Houston, Texas. An interview and questionnaire was used to collect dietary data. Dietary folate intake was separated into 3 categories; naturally occurring food folate, dietary folate equivalents (DFE) from food sources and DFE from all sources.
The study cohort consisted of 409 bladder cancer patients and 451 healthy controls. Bladder cancer patients reported a lower intake of folate than controls for food folate and DFE from food sources, but not for DFE from all sources. A bladder cancer risk reduction occurred with each increasing quartile of folate intake, which meant that the highest quartile of folate intake conferred a 54% risk reduction. This was also true for the highest quartile risk reduction for DFE from food sources (59%) and DFE from all sources (35%).
Five major folate food sources were examined and legumes were the only dietary source that yielded a statistically significant protective effect. With regards to smoking, a significant elevated risk effect was noted in active smokers and a borderline significant elevated risk was present in former smokers. Heavy smokers with low folate intake had a 2.31-fold increased risk, compared to heavy smokers with high folate intake who had a reduced odds ratio of 1.21. For light smokers, a high folate intake demonstrated a non-significant protective effect.
These data establish rationale for prospective testing the protective effect of folate on the development of bladder cancer with an emphasis on the smoking patient population.
http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=43242
UVa Researchers Seek To Unlock Broccoli's Cancer Fighting Secret
18 Oct 2006
After all these years, mom was right. She knew broccoli was good for you, she just didn't know it was this good.
"Everyone knows broccoli is good for you and that it contains compounds known to lessen the occurrence of some types of cancer. We want to know how these compounds work and what their specific targets may be," says Janet V. Cross, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pathology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine.
Cross and her colleague Dennis J. Templeton, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of the UVa Department of Pathology have received a $1.3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to study how specific nutrients in healthy vegetables like broccoli work to prevent cancer.
Cross and Templeton found that nutrients in broccoli unexpectedly bond with a specific enzyme in cells. This enzyme had been clearly linked to inflammatory disease processes, but Cross solidified a link with cancer when she found that mice who did not have the gene for this enzyme developed far fewer cancers when given carcinogens.
"If we can determine that this specific enzyme is the reason the compounds in broccoli work to prevent cancer, then these nutrients or similar chemicals could be turned into anti-cancer compounds," she says.
The incorporation of these compounds into a cancer prevention treatment that comes in a pill or liquid form could enhance the concept of stopping cancers before they start.
For Cross, there is also a personal pull to developing anti-cancer compounds. "The real irony is that I can't stand broccoli," she says.
http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=54262
Boiling Broccoli Ruins Its Anti-Cancer Properties
20 May 2007
Researchers at the University of Warwick have found that the standard British cooking habit of boiling vegetables severely damages the anticancer properties of many Brassica vegetables such as broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower and green cabbage.
Past studies have shown that consumption of Brassica vegetables decreases the risk of cancer. This is because of the high concentration in Brassicas of substances known as glucosinolates which are metabolized to cancer preventive substances known as isothiocyanates. However before this research it was not known how the glucosinolates and isothiocyanates were influenced by storage and cooking of Brassica vegetables.
The researchers, Prof Paul Thornalley from Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick and Dr Lijiang Song from the University of Warwick's Department of Chemistry bought Brassica vegetables, (broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower and green cabbage) from a local store and transported them to the laboratory within 30 minutes of purchasing. The effect of cooking on the glucosinolate content of vegetables was then studied by investigating the effects of cooking by boiling, steaming, microwave cooking and stir-fry.
Boiling appeared to have a serious impact on the retention of those important glucosinolate within the vegetables. The loss of total glucosinolate content after boiling for 30 minutes was: broccoli 77%, Brussel sprouts 58%, cauliflower 75% and green cabbage 65%.
The effects of other cooking methods were investigated: steaming for 0-20 min, microwave cooking for 0-3 min and stir-fry cooking for 0-5 min. All three methods gave no significant loss of total glucosinolate analyte contents over these cooking periods.
Domestic storage of the vegetables at ambient temperature and in a domestic refrigerator showed no significant difference with only minor loss of glucosinolate levels over 7 days.
However the researchers found that storage of fresh vegetables at much lower temperatures such as -85 ?C (much higher than for storage in a refrigerator at 4-8 ?C) may cause significant loss of glucosinolates up to 33% by fracture of vegetable material during thawing.
The researchers found that preparation of Brassica vegetables had caused only minor reductions in glucosinolate except when they were shredded finely which showed a marked decline of glucosinolate levels with a loss of up to 75% over 6 hours after shredding.
Professor Thornalley said: "If you want to get the maximum benefit from your five portions-a-day vegetable consumption, if you are cooking your vegetables boiling is out. You need to consider stir frying steaming or micro-waving them."
http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=71135
Compounds That Color Fruits And Veggies May Protect Against Colon Cancer
Article Date: 20 Aug 2007 - 0:00 PDT
Understanding the molecular structures of compounds that give certain fruits and vegetables their rich colors may help researchers find even more powerful cancer fighters, a new study suggests.
Evidence from laboratory experiments on rats and on human colon cancer cells also suggests that anthocyanins, the compounds that give color to most red, purple and blue fruits and vegetables appreciably slow the growth of colon cancer cells.
The findings also bring scientists a step closer to figuring out what exactly gives fruits and vegetables their cancer-fighting properties.
"These foods contain many compounds, and we're just starting to figure out what they are and which ones provide the best health benefits," said Monica Giusti, the lead author of the study and an assistant professor of food science at Ohio State University.
Giusti presented the findings, which represent the collaborative efforts of Giusti and her colleagues, on August 19 at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston.
Giusti and her colleagues found that in some cases, slight alterations to the structure of anthocyanin molecules made these compounds more potent anti-cancer agents.
In their studies on human colon cancer cells grown in laboratory dishes, the researchers tested the anti-cancer effects of anthocyanin-rich extracts from a variety of fruits and vegetables. They retrieved these anthocyanins from some relatively exotic fruits and other plants, including grapes, radishes, purple corn, chokeberries, bilberries, purple carrots and elderberries.
The plants were chosen due to their extremely deep colors, and therefore high anthocyanin content. Some of these plants are also used as a source of food coloring.
The researchers determined the amount of extract needed from each plant to cut the growth of human colon cancer cells in half. Altering pigment structures slightly by adding an extra sugar or acid molecule changed the biological activity of these extracts.
The researchers added different extracts to flasks that contained colon cancer cells. They used an analytical technique called high-performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry in order to determine the exact chemical structure of each compound. They used biological tests to determine the number of cancer cells left after anthocyanin treatment.
The researchers found that the amount of anthocyanin extract needed to reduce cancer cell growth by 50 percent varied among the plants. Extract derived from purple corn was the most potent, in that it took the least amount of this extract (14 micrograms per milliliter of cell growth solution) to cut cell numbers in half. Chokeberry and bilberry extracts were nearly as potent as purple corn. Radish extract proved the least potent, as it took nine times as much (131 ?g/ml) of this compound to cut cell growth by 50 percent.
"All fruits and vegetables that are rich in anthocyanins have compounds that can slow down the growth of colon cancer cells, whether in experiments in laboratory dishes or inside the body," Giusti said.
In additional laboratory studies, she and her colleagues found that anthocyanin pigments from radish and black carrots slowed the growth of cancer cells anywhere from 50 to 80 percent. But pigments from purple corn and chokeberries not only completely stopped the growth of cancer cells, but also killed roughly 20 percent of the cancer cells while having little effect on healthy cells.
In animal studies, rats induced with colon cancer cells were fed a daily diet of anthocyanin extracts either from bilberries and chokeberries, which are most often used as flavorings or to make jams and juices. The dietary addition of the anthocyanin extracts reduced signs of colon tumors by 70 and 60 percent, respectively, when compared to control rats.
Giusti says the results suggest that anthocyanins may protect against certain gastrointestinal cancers.
"Very little anthocyanin is absorbed by the bloodstream," Giusti said. "But a large proportion travels through the gastrointestinal tract, where those tissues absorb the compound."
In fact, other researchers at Ohio State have found that black raspberries may help reduce the growth of esophageal and colon cancers tumors.
Still, Giusti stops short of recommending one kind of fruit or vegetable over another. She and her colleagues are continuing to study how the chemical structure of anthocyanins contributes to the potential health benefits of food as well as how changes to these structures may affect the body's ability to use the compounds.
"There are more than 600 different anthocyanins found in nature," she said. "While we know that the concentration of anthocyanins in the GI tract is ultimately affected by their chemical structures, we're just beginning to scratch the surface of understanding how the body absorbs and uses these different structures."
She pointed out that her team is also evaluating how these pigments interact with other compounds in foods such interactions could ultimately affect the health benefits of the food or the anthocyanin itself.
"It is possible to use natural, anthocyanin-based food colorants instead of synthetic dyes," Giusti said. "Doing so still maintains the wonderful colors of foods while enhancing their health-promoting properties."
This work received support from a U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Research Initiative grant.
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