Soy Compound Battles Cancer

ARCHIVE | MARCH 10, 1998

A compound called genistein may be the key to how soy-based foods help the body ward of cancer, researchers say.

Writing in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles say animal tests have shown that genistein, found in soy-based products, stops cells from making stress proteins produced by cancer cells.

Those proteins help cancer cells survive attacks by the body's immune system and anti-cancer therapies, researchers say. "Genistein is a natural component of the diet of Chinese and Japanese who are at low risk for breast, colon, and prostate cancers," researchers say.

Excerpt from Options website:

Isoflavones: Miracle From the Soybean!

A new class of natural and non-toxic substances called isoflavones, found in the soybean have been found to protect against cancer.

Isoflavones such as diadzein, equol and genistein are in the class of phytochemicals (plant based chemicals) which are now under intense study for their anti-cancer activity in the US and throughout the world.

Researchers in Germany found high levels of genistine, the most potent of the isoflavones, stopped the growth of endothelial cells, the primary cells that form new blood vessel growth to tumors.

Researchers have found that eating a diet high in soy reduces the risk of melanoma and cancers of the breast, prostate, and colon.

At the Designer Foods III symposium at Georgetown University over 40 researchers presented scientific evidence on the disease fighting properties of such diverse dietary substances as garlic, licorice and soybeans. Herbert Pierson, PhD, said, These phytochemicals... could be taken in supplement form to help prevent or fight disease."

Excerpt from the following publication: Isoflavones and the New Concentrated Soy Supplements
by Phillip N. Steinberg, Certified Nutritional Consultant, graduate of the Nutritionists Institute of America.

Genistein & Isoflavones

Of the various isoflavones found in soy, none have been studied as extensively as genistein. According to these studies, genistein has been found to have the following benefits:

1. as with other isoflavones, acts as an anti-estrogen by blocking the uptake of estrogen;
2. prevents cancer cell growth by inhibiting the activity of tyrosine protein kinase, an enzyme created by oncogenes (cancer causing genes) responsible for activating the development of certain types of cancers;
3. inhibits other enzymes involved in cancer progression;
4. causes Cancer cells to differentiate and change back to normal cells. A normal cell becomes cancerous by de-differentiating - in other words becoming more embryonic (primitive) or less specialized, and therefore more deadly. Genistein reverses this process;
5. inihibits angiogenesis - the ingrowth of capillaries stimulated by a malignant tumor to nourish its cells and continue its growth. If angiogenesis can be effectively blocked, the tumor dies from starvation because its blood supply is cut-off. Laboratory studies indicate that genistein inhibits the growth of cancer cell DNA perhaps even better than shark cartilage. It does not, however; inhibit the growth of normal cells;
6. acts as a powerful anti-oxidant, protecting cells from free radical attack, i.e.: radiation and chemical pollutants.

Because of the above six activities attributed to genistine, this isoflavone may provide protection against a very wide range of cancers. In fact, some researchers believe that genistine could be utilized in the treatment of virtually all forms of cancer. In one study conducted at the University of Minnesota, genistein was used successfully to destroy BCP leukemia cells in mice. BCP leukemia is the most common form of cancer in children.

There is also evidence that genistein may reduce the symptoms associated with menopause, prevent bone loss and possibly be a replacement for estrogen supplements like Premarin. Genistein has also been shown to inhibit platelet aggregation and thrombosis and thus, may be helpful in preventing strokes and heart attacks and the development of atherosclerosis. Finally, genistein has been found to exhibit strong anti-inflammatory properties, indicating that it may be useful in a broad range of inflammatory conditions usch as arthritis, bursitis and rheumatic diseases.