Soy Compound for Breast and Ovarian Cancers

Ivanhoe Newswire
Monday, January 15, 2007; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A compound derived from soybeans could be beneficial for women with breast and ovarian cancers. New research reveals the compound, known as glyceollin, helps stop the growth of tumors in mice and did not cause side effects seen with other therapies.

Antiestrogen therapy, like tamoxifen, has proven beneficial for women with tumors stimulated by the hormone estrogen. However, over time the tumors develop a resistance to the drug and there is an increased risk for uterine cancer growth. Cancer researcher Matthew Burow, Ph.D., from Tulane University in New Orleans, is studying the compound glyceollin as an alternative antiestrogen therapy.

Specially grown soybeans produce glyceollin. Dr. Burow's previous research showed a diet rich in glyceollins could help fight breast cancer. For this study, Dr. Burow tested the compound on mice with ovarian and breast cancer tumors stimulated by the hormone estrogen.

He reports glyceollin stopped further growth of the tumors by interfering with the tumor's ability to respond to estrogen. Also, glyceollin did not stimulate uterine cancer growth. Dr. Burow reports this is an important finding because there is a lack of effective therapies for women with advanced breast and ovarian cancers.

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SOURCE: Clinical Cancer Research, 2006;12:7159-7164