In recent years, medical researchers have been battling a top killer of women -- breast cancer. One study may have found answer in a component of broccoli.

Indole-3-carbino, which is found in broccoli, interferes with the breast cancer cell's life cycle in a way that hints at a totally new signaling pathway in the cell. The chemical seems to be working by a very unusual mechanism. It turns off a gene for an enzyme important in the cell's growth cycle.

The chemical Indole-3-carbino (I3C) is a component of broccoli and other members of the Brassica family, such as brussels sprouts, bok choy, kale, chard and turnips.

I3C has low toxicity but seems to be very effective in fighting breast cancer cells. According to the study, it is an effective agent at blocking tumorigenesis in rats. When fed to them, I3C can block 95 percent of all breast cancers in rats. The compound also works independently of the hormone estrogen, unlike breast cancer treatment drugs like Tamoxifen.

I3C would be a good candidate for use in combination therapy with drugs those that do interfere with estrogen.

In fact, research shows that I3C does not act on estrogen at all. Instead the chemical actually stops the cell cycle. When I3C reacts with stomach acid, the byproducts are the ones responsible for the anti-estrogen and certain toxic effects of the broccoli compounds. I3C initiates a sudden drop in the generation of the enzyme CDK6, or cyclin-dependent kinase 6.

SOURCE: Nutrition and Cancer 2004;48(1):84-94
Posted September 23, 2004

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