Substance Present In Broccoli And Brussels Sprouts Found To Inhibit Cancer Growth

Substance present in broccoli and brussels sprouts found to inhibit cancer growth

A chemical substance produced when digesting broccoli and brussels sprouts has the ability to block the growth of certain cancer cells.  The substance is called indole-3-carbinol (I3C). Laboratory and animal studies show that the I3C substance caused destruction of a necessary factor in breast cancer cell growth.  Breast cancer cells need certain molecules in order to grow and spread.  I3C from broccoli or brussels sprouts destroys one of those molecules, and blocks the growth of more breast cancer cells.

The studies are being done at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.   The molecule which allows cancer cells to spread and which is blocked by I3C is called Cdc25A.  This cancer molecule “is present at abnormally high levels in about half of breast cancer cases, and it is associated with a poor prognosis,” said an assistant professor of pathology at the Ohio State University Medical Center. This cancer molecule also occurs at abnormally high levels in cancers of the breast, prostate, liver, esophagus, endometrium, and colon, and in non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and in other diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.