Broccoli Pill Prevents Breast Cancer
Veggie's Anti-Cancer Benefits May Soon Be Easier to Swallow
Aug. 19, 2002 -- It may sound like something straight out of a Jetsons cartoon, but an extra-strength broccoli pill may be just what the doctor ordered to prevent breast cancer. Researchers say they've developed a new cancer-fighting compound based on a natural component found in broccoli.
Anti-oxidant compounds in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, such as brussels sprouts and cabbage, have already been shown to help reduce the risk of cancer. But the natural cancer-fighting compound found in these vegetables, sulforaphane, can be toxic in very high doses, which makes it an unlikely candidate for drug development.
Now, researchers have created a synthetic version of the compound that appears to be less toxic, according to early tests in animals. They presented their findings this week at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Researchers say the synthetic compound, called oxomate, doesn't contain any of the potentially hazardous chemical components found in the natural version. And it is cheaper and easier to produce.
In laboratory tests, oxomate was seven times less toxic to liver cells than sulforaphane. And female rats fed oxomate after exposure to cancer-causing chemicals developed 50% fewer breast cancers than rats that didn't receive oxomate.
Researchers say that not all cruciferous vegetables contain the same amount of the sulforaphane, so eating enough of the foods to get the cancer-prevention benefits can be difficult.
"It may be easier to take a cancer-prevention pill once a day rather than rely on massive quantities of fruits and vegetables," says study author Jerome Kosmeder, PhD, research assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, in a news release.
"Oxomate would give you a definitive benefit; you'd know exactly how much you're getting everyday, it's exact benefit and risk," says Kosmeder.
The researchers say a cancer-prevention drug based on oxomate would also have another important benefit over the only other drug currently FDA approved for breast cancer prevention in high-risk women, tamoxifen. Studies show tamoxifen is not effective in preventing cancers in women with non-estrogen-dependent tumors.
But researchers say an oxomate-based drug would help prevent cancer whether or not the tumor relied on estrogen for growth.
Alas, development of such a drug is several years away. Meanwhile, researchers say people should continue to eat their fruits and vegetables to take advantage of their cancer-fighting properties.