Broccoli Compound May Inhibit Lung Cancer Tumors
A compound found in broccoli may help protect against lung cancer in smokers, according to results of a study with mice.
Although expert advice is clearly to avoid tobacco smoke altogether, the results suggest smokers could benefit from upping their intake of cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower that contain the compound indole-3-carbinol (I3C).
Writing in Cancer Prevention Research, scientists from the University of Minnesota report that mice exposed to carcinogens found in tobacco smoke and fed varying doses of I3C had significant reductions in the number of lung tumors.
Indeed, mice fed the highest amount of I3C had 88% fewer tumors than control mice, with the scientists reporting the compound appeared to act on inhibiting cell proliferation, and enhancing programmed cell death (apoptosis).
“These results clearly show the efficacy of I3C in the prevention of tobacco carcinogen-induced lung tumorigenesis in […] mice and provide a basis for future evaluation of this compound in clinical trials as a chemopreventive agent for current and former smokers,” wrote lead author Fekadu Kassie.
Kassie and co-workers exposed mice to carcinogenic compounds found in tobacco smoke called 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) plus benzo(a)pyrene (BaP).
This resulted in an average of 21 tumors per mouse after 16 weeks. However, mice fed diets containing 1, 10, 30, 71 and 112 micromoles per gram of I3C were found to have reductions in the number of tumors by 15%, 51%, 53%, 75% and 88%, respectively.
The results need to be repeated in additional studies, and supported by human studies, if the findings are to be applicable to humans.
Cancer Prevention Research 1:568-576, 2008
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