Soy Compound May Halt Spread Of Prostate Cancer

Researchers have found that a soybean rich diet in mice helped to prevent the spread of cancer throughout the body. The chemical, genistein, is the key to this phenomenon. The amazing part about this discovery is that a human would only have to consume the amount of soy found in a normal soybean-rich diet.

The study was held at Northwestern University and it was found that the genistein decreased the metastasis of prostate cancer to the lungs by an astounding 96 percent. Genistein inhibits the detachment of cancerous cells by blocking the activation of p38 MAP kinases. The genistein flattens out cells to make them stick stronger to other cells limiting their ability to move away. However, genistein only stops metastasis of the tumor not stopping its growth or reducing the size of the tumor.

The researchers stressed that this information is very new and incomplete. The use of genistein may prove to work different in humans. People who have had soy diets their entire life versus people who switched to a soy diet for treatment may have different results from the treatment. Researchers went on to state that "the only way [they] will find out how promising genistein is will be from conducting clinical trials."


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080314085038.htm