College Station, Texas
January 6, 2004
AgNews
Texas A&M University Agriculture Program
Writer: Kathleen
Phillips
Broccoli, cabbage, turnips and
mustard greens. A dose a day keeps most cancers away.
But for those who develop cancer,
the same vegetables may ultimately produce the cure. Research at
the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station has led to a patent
for a new use for derivatives of DIM, or diindolylmethane, a
natural compound derived from certain vegetables, to treat
cancer.
"We took advantage of a natural
chemical, that research has shown will prevent cancer, and
developed several more analogs," said Dr. Steve Safe, an
Experiment Station chemist who has been studying cancer for
about 10 years.
Safe's patent has been picked up
by Plantacor, a new biotech company headquartered in College
Station, and is expected to enter clinical trials soon in
collaboration with M.D. Anderson in Houston.
DIM already is commercially
available as a natural supplement for cancer prevention and for
treating estrogen-related health issues.
"DIM is a potent substance," Safe
said. "But we made it even more potent against various tumors."
The first development in this
research using chemically altered DIM from broccoli came when
the growth of breast cancer cells was inhibited in laboratory
studies. Subsequent research showed these compounds also
inhibited growth of pancreatic, colon, bladder and ovarian
cancer cells in culture, Safe said. Limited trials on lab mice
and rats have produced the similar results, he noted.
Safe said the research began by
considering compounds that protect a person from developing
cancer. Journal articles of other researchers are stacked on
Safe's expansive desk, extolling the scientific evidence that
cruciferous vegetables prevent cancer.
His team wondered whether the
similar compounds could be developed for treatment of cancer.
They looked at the mechanism – how the compounds block cancer
cell growth – and found that they target PPAR gamma, a protein
that is highly active in fat cells. However, this same PPAR
gamma is over-expressed in many tumors and tumor cells and is a
potential target for new drugs, he said.
Safe's lab chemically modified
"natural" DIM to give a series of compounds that target the PPAR
gamma and stop the growth of cancer.
"One of the best parts is that
this treatment appears to have minimal or no side effects, in
the mice trials; it just stops tumor growth," he said. "The hope
now is that the patented chemicals can be developed into useful
drugs for clinical trials and then be used for cancer treatment.
"It looks promising in cancer
cells and animals at this time. We need future studies in humans
to see if it is beneficial with people as well," he added.
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