Broccoli Component Could Help Prevent Or Treat Breast Cancer

A compound derived from broccoli could help prevent or treat breast cancer by targeting cancer stem cells — the small number of cells that fuel a tumor’s growth — according to a new study from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The study tested sulforaphane, a component of broccoli and broccoli sprouts, in both mice and cell cultures. Researchers found sulforaphane targeted and killed the cancer stem cells and prevented new tumors from growing.

“Sulforaphane has been studied previously for its effects on cancer, but this study shows that its benefit is in inhibiting the breast cancer stem cells. This new insight suggests the potential of sulforaphane or broccoli extract to prevent or treat cancer by targeting the critical cancer stem cells,” says study author Duxin Sun, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the U-M College of Pharmacy and a researcher with the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Results of the study appear in the May 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

Current chemotherapies do not work against cancer stem cells, which is why cancer recurs and spreads. Researchers believe that eliminating the cancer stem cells is key to controlling cancer.

In the current study, researchers took mice with breast cancer and injected varying concentrations of sulforaphane from the broccoli extract. Researchers then used several established methods to assess the number of cancer stem cells in the tumors. These measures showed a marked decrease in the cancer stem cell population after treatment with sulforaphane, with little effect on the normal cells. Further, cancer cells from mice treated with sulforaphane were unable to generate new tumors. The researchers then tested sulforaphane on human breast cancer cell cultures in the lab, finding similar decreases in the cancer stem cells. Read more

Mammograms May Increase Breast Cancer Risk In Younger Women With Genetic Mutations, Family History, Study Finds

Radiation from annual mammograms may further increase the risk that young women with genetic mutations or family histories linked to breast cancer will develop the disease, according to a study presented at a conference Monday, the New York Times reports. The findings likely will fuel the debate brought on by a recent Journal of the American Medical Association article questioning current breast cancer screening practices and recent U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines stating that most women can begin mammograms later in life and have them less frequently than is generally recommended.

The Times notes that high doses of radiation can increase the risk of breast cancer but that mammograms use a low dose. However, the same genetic mutations that increase the risk of breast cancer in some women might also make them more susceptible to cancer caused by radiation, according to Marijke Jansen-van der Weide, who presented the findings at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America. The results are “particularly troubling” because doctors urge high-risk patients to begin breast cancer screening earlier in life, the Times reports. The researchers stressed that the new findings are not conclusive and that the issue needs more study.

The researchers examined data from six previous studies on about 5,000 high-risk women. They found that women who had mammograms or chest X-rays prior to age 20, or who had had at least five radiation exposures, were two-and-one-half times more likely to develop breast cancer than women who had had no exposure. Read more