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.

“This research suggests a potential new treatment that could be combined with other compounds to target breast cancer stem cells. Developing treatments that effectively target the cancer stem cell population is essential for improving outcomes,” says study author Max S. Wicha, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Oncology and director of the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The concentrations of sulforaphane used in the study were higher than what can be achieved by eating broccoli or broccoli sprouts. Prior research suggests the concentrations needed to impact cancer can be absorbed by the body from the broccoli extract, but side effects are not known. While the extract is available in capsule form as a supplement, concentrations are unregulated and will vary.

This work has not been tested in patients, and patients are not encouraged to add sulforaphane supplements to their diet at this time.

Researchers are currently developing a method to extract and preserve sulforaphane and will be developing a clinical trial to test sulforaphane as a prevention and treatment for breast cancer. No clinical trial is currently available.

Breast cancer statistics: 194,280 Americans will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year and 40,610 will die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society

Additional authors: Yanyan Li, Tao Zhang, Hasan Korkaya, Suling Liu, Hsiu-Fang Lee, Bryan Newman, Yanke Yu, Shawn G. Clouthier and Steven J. Schwartz

Funding: National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute

Reference: Clinical Cancer Research, Vol. 16, No. 9; May 1, 2010

Source
University of Michigan Health System

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.

“For high-risk women, it’s important to weigh the benefits and risks of mammography with their doctor and come together on a screening strategy, and to keep in mind that at a young age you can use an alternative screening technique like MRI,” Jansen-van der Weide said. Robert Smith, director of cancer screening for the American Cancer Society, questioned the authors’ methodology, adding that MRIs are not a suitable substitute for mammograms. Smith said that MRIs and mammograms can both miss tumors and that the best approach for high-risk women is to use the two tests together (Grady, New York Times, 12/1).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women’s Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

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