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Posted on Dec 04, 2008, 4 a.m.
By Rich Hurd
Indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a compound found in cruciferous vegetables including broccoli and cabbage, lowers the activity of an enzyme associated with aggressive breast cancer, say researchers from the University of California, Berkeley.
Indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a compound found in cruciferous vegetables including broccoli and cabbage, lowers the activity of an enzyme associated with aggressive breast cancer, say researchers from the University of California, Berkeley.
Clinical trials of I3C are already underway after previous research showed that it prevented the growth of breast and prostate cancer cells in mice. However, the results of this study are the first to explain how exactly how I3C stops cancer in its tracks.
Professor Gary Firestone and colleagues found that I3C inhibits the enzyme elastase. High levels of elastase in breast cancer cells are suggestive of a poor prognosis because elastase shortens cyclin E, a cellular chemical involved in controlling the cell cycle, and the shortened version of cyclin E speeds up the cell cycle, therefore making cancer cells proliferate faster. What Firestone and colleagues found was that I3C prevents the elastase shortening of cyclin E, thus halting the growth of breast cancer cells.
"I think one of the real uses of this compound and its derivatives is combining it with other kinds of therapies, such as tamoxifen for breast cancer and anti-androgens for prostate cancer," said Professor Firestone. "Humans have co-evolved with cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and Brussels sprouts, so this natural source has a lot fewer side effects."
News release: Broccoli compound targets key enzyme in late-stage cancer. UC Berkeley. December 2nd 2008.
