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- University of Illinois at Chicago
- 4-Apr-00
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- Library: MED
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- Description: The effectiveness of commercially available soy
components, called isoflavones, in preventing breast cancer is
questioned by University of Illinois at Chicago research
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- Women at risk for breast cancer are increasingly turning to
components of natural soy products as a preventive measure against
the disease, but research by a UIC scientist questions the effectiveness
of the most popular of these commercially available components,
called isoflavones.
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- In a study to be presented April 3 at the American Association
for Cancer Research meeting in San Francisco, Dr. Andreas Constantinou,
associate professor in the department of surgical oncology in
UIC's College of Medicine and research director of the Functional
Foods for Health Program, tested purified isoflavones versus soy
protein mixes with and without isoflavones to determine their
effectiveness in reducing the incidence and the number of mammary
gland tumors in rats.
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- Although all compounds studied reduced the incidence of tumors,
the soy protein mix without isoflavones was the most effective
in decreasing the number of tumors.
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- Dr. Constantinou's work also suggested that, whatever the anti-tumor
ingredient that was in the soy mixture, it worked by increasing
the production of two detoxification enzymes that eliminate free
radicals. Free radicals are especially reactive oxygen species
- such as superoxide, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals
- that can damage cells by reacting with DNA, proteins or lipids.
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- Studies have shown an inverse relationship between the consumption
of soybean products and breast cancer risk in premenopausal women.
Moreover, the incidence of the disease is lower in Japan and regions
of China, where a large percentage of the daily caloric intake
is from soybeans, than in Western industrialized countries, where
little or no soy is included in the diet.
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- While studies of soy have demonstrated an inhibitory effect
of soy on mammary tumors, research attempting to identify which
component of soy is responsible for the salutary response has
had mixed results to date.
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- -UIC-
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