Anti-cancer Compound In Vegetables Found To Block Late-stage Breast-cancer Cell Growth

From: Roman Bystrianyk (rbystrianyk_at_gmail.com)
Date: 09/17/04 

Date: 16 Sep 2004 17:51:23 -0700

http://www.healthsentinel.com/news.php?id=246&title=Anti-cancer+Compound+In+Vegetables+Found+To+Block+Late-stage+Breast-cancer+Cell+Growth&event=news_print_list_item

"Anti-cancer Compound In Vegetables Found To Block Late-stage
Breast-cancer Cell Growth", Science Daily, September 1, 2004,
Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/09/040901091511.htm

A well-known anti-cancer agent in certain vegetables has just had its
reputation enhanced. The compound, in broccoli and other cruciferous
vegetables, has been found to be effective in disrupting late stages
of cell growth in breast cancer. Keith Singletary and doctoral student
Steven Jackson of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
report their finding involving sulforaphane (SUL), which they say
could ultimately be used to enhance the prevention and treatment of
breast cancer, in the September issue of the Journal of Nutrition.

"This is the first report to show how the naturally occurring plant
chemical sulforaphane can block late stages of the cancer process by
disrupting components of the cell called microtubules," said
Singletary, a professor in the department of food science and human
nutrition. "We were surprised and pleased to find that SUL could block
the growth of breast cells that were already cancerous."

SUL is abundant in such vegetables as broccoli, brussels sprouts and
kale. Chewing causes the cell walls of these vegetables to break, and
SUL is released into the body.

Singletary, a researcher in phytochemicals and cancer chemoprevention,
and Jackson exposed cultures of malignant human breast cancer cells to
SUL. Within hours, SUL blocked cell division and disrupted
microtubules, which are long, slender cylinders made up of tubulin
(protein), that are essential for the separation of duplicated
chromosomes during cell division.

"It is not yet clear whether the doses required to produce inhibition
of tubulin polymerization are higher than those achievable via dietary
intakes," wrote Jackson and Singletary. "However, the results show
that tubulin disruption may be an important explanation for SUL's
antiproliferative action."

"These findings are significant since SUL's actions appear similar to
a group of anticancer drugs currently in use, such as Taxol,"
Singletary said.

SUL is studied extensively for its effects against cancer. Previous
reports have shown that SUL induces defensive mechanisms that are
effective in protecting normal cells from the initiation of cancer.
"More than 10 years ago, researchers at Johns Hopkins University
reported that SUL is a potent inducer of enzyme systems that can
defend against carcinogens," Singletary said. Such defense mechanisms
are effective during the early stage of cancer.

The Illinois research extends the 1992 discovery at Johns Hopkins and
pinpoints how SUL works during later stages of cancer, such that SUL
can suppress the orderly division process in human breast cancer
cells.

"The findings may be helpful in the development of new breast cancer
prevention and treatment strategies," Singletary said. "For example,
it may be possible that ingesting SUL in combination with certain
natural compounds or drugs could enhance their anticancer
effectiveness and reduce side effects."

According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer this year will
account for 15 percent of all cancer deaths in women, and
approximately 275,000 new breast cancer cases of various forms will be
diagnosed.

Improvements in treatments such as chemotherapy have led to an 88
percent survival rate in Caucasian women and a 74 percent survival
rate in African-American women, according to the most recent ACS
survey in 2003.

However, some current chemotherapy drugs have side effects that have
the ACS and other organizations seeking new strategies that combine
chemotherapy drugs with other treatments to potentially lessen the
toxic effects.

The new Illinois study confirms a previous study in mice. In the
February 2004 issue of the journal Carcinogenesis, Singletary and
Jackson reported that SUL treatments in mice with implanted cancer
cells resulted in decreased tumor size.

More research is needed to assess SUL's potential in countering breast
cancer development, Singletary said. "What we do not know is how
specific SUL and other similar phytochemicals are toward cancer cells
compared to normal cells," he said. "We also do not know against which
cancers SUL's microtubule-targeting actions are most effective."

Future studies in Singletary's lab will address those issues.

The University of Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station and the
U.S. Department of Agriculture funded the research.

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