Broccoli Sprouts for Bladder Cancer

An extract made from broccoli sprouts may inhibit the development of bladder cancer, a new study suggests.

Bladder cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells, usually originating in the bladder lining. The bladder is an organ located in the pelvic cavity that stores and discharges urine. Urine is produced by the kidneys, carried to the bladder by hollow tubes called ureters and discharged from the bladder through a tube called the urethra.

Bladder cancer accounts for about 90 percent of urinary tract cancers, including renal pelvis, ureters, bladder and urethra. It is the sixth most common cancer in the United States. About 53,200 Americans are diagnosed with bladder cancer each year, and 12,200 die annually of the disease. The estimated new cases and deaths from bladder cancer in the United States in 2007 are 67,160 and 13,750, respectively.

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the highest incidence of bladder cancer occurs in industrialized countries such as the United States, Canada and France. Incidence is lowest in Asia and South America, where it is about 70 percent lower than in the United States.

Researchers from New Zealand and Maryland explained that isothiocyanates are a well-known class of cancer chemopreventive agents, and broccoli sprouts are a rich source of several isothiocyanates.

They observed that the broccoli sprout isothiocyanates taken by mouth are then selectively delivered to the bladder tissues through urinary excretion. The study used a freeze-dried aqueous extract of broccoli sprouts that contained about 600 times the isothiocyanates content of mature broccoli.

The study found that in the animals given the low-dose extract, tumors developed in 22 percent fewer animals, and the number of tumors per rat was 1.39. Animals given the high-dose extract developed about 58 percent fewer tumors, and the average number of tumors per animal was only 0.46.

The study authors concluded that broccoli sprout extract may be a highly promising substance for bladder cancer prevention, and the isothiocyanates in the extract are selectively delivered to the bladder epithelium through urinary excretion.

For more information about bladder cancer, please visit Natural Standard’s Medical Conditions database.

Comments

[Liv]

Isothiocyanate’s work by neutralizing carcinogens, reducing the poisonous effect and increasing the secretion of carcinogens. They also inhibit the proliferation of cells and can induce apoptosis. Other studies have shown promise in preventing lung cancer, esophageal cancer and other gastrointestinal cancers.

[Heather]

Is there something that happens between the consumption of broccoli sprouts and the excretion of those compounds that would make them selectively active in the urinary tract? What about effects on the oral cavity, esophagus, stomach and small intestine?

[Coral]

Broccoli sprouts became a big deal around 1990s when Johns Hopkins researchers identified broccoli sprouts as a very concentrated source of sulforaphane. Since then, they’ve been looked at for their antioxidant properties across a broad range of conditions, including stroke, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

[JC]

Scientists have also been looking into other applications of broccoli sprouts’ antioxidant/anti-inflammatory abilities. A team at Johns Hopkins published a 2007 article showing that topical application of broccoli sprout extract could protect against the damaging effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which is the worst cancer-causing agent in our environment.

[Martha]

I read an article a few months ago that said a diet rich in cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and cauliflower, may be associated with a reduced risk of aggressive prostate cancer. Researchers from one study found that the risk of extraprostatic prostate cancer (stage III or IV tumors) decreased with increasing vegetable intake. This association was mainly explained by intake of cruciferous vegetables, in particular, broccoli and cauliflower.

[Jerry]

"Raw cruciferous vegetables are better than the cooked vegetables because cooking time reduces the amount of isothiocyanates by 60% to 90%," Li Tang, MD, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at Roswell Park who led one of the studies, told CBS news.

[Alex]

I don't doubt that broccoli has anti-cancer properties; I've read many articles/studies about these effects. However, it should be noted that one of the authors of this study – Jed Fahey, MS, ScD, of Johns Hopkins University – is a founder consultant and stockholder in Brassica Protection Products, which sells broccoli sprouts.

[Dale]

According to researchers, a sulfur bond links sulforaphane to a sugar molecule. When the broccoli enzyme breaks off the sugar to release the sulforaphane, a sulfur-grabbing protein can remove the newly exposed sulfur on the sulforaphane and inactivate it.

In order to maximize the anti-cancer effects of broccoli, Elizabeth Jeffrey, a researcher from the University of Illinois, has shown that the vegetable should be heated just enough to eliminate the sulfur-grabbing protein, but not enough to stop the plant from releasing sulforaphane.

"As scientists, we learned that sulforaphane is maximized when broccoli has been heated 10 minutes at 140 degrees Fahrenheit," Jeffery told ScienceDaily. "For the consumer, who cannot readily hold the temperature as low as 140 degrees, that means the best way to prepare broccoli is to steam it lightly about 3 or 4 minutes--until the broccoli is tough-tender."

[yellow ochre]

I just found out that botanically speaking, broccoli and cauliflower are the same genus/species: Brassica olracia. Cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, broccoli, broccoli rabe, kale, collards, cow cabbage, tall kale, tree kale, etc. are all the same thing really. Does anyone know if the amount of isothiocyanates found in these other variations are equal to broccoli? What is the fascination with broccoli anyhow? I'm actually unsure about broccoli's effects... I've read a host of promising papers on broccoli in bench research, but everything seems theoretical with no clear conclusion. Does anyone know of any stronger evidence for cancer therapies?

[Jenn]

Vitamin E, DHEA, garlic, green tea, lycopene, milk thistle and sweet almond have also been suggested as possible bladder cancer therapies, but so far, I haven't seen anything "evidence-based" for these herbs/supps.

[Lynne]

Cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, contain a bioactive product called glucosinolates. These are broken down by hydrolysis into nitriles, isothiocyanates and thiocyanates. Glucoraphinin, the glucosinolate found in broccoli, will breakdown into sulforaphane (the isothiocyanate) and sulforaphane nitrile (the nitrile). It is estimated that 80-90% of the glucoraphinin in broccoli will breakdown to sulforaphane nitrile, and 10-20% will breakdown to sulforaphane. Both products are thought to have anticancer properties.

[Tina]

There are many isothiocyanates found in vegetables; the most studied include sulforaphane (found in broccoli), phenethyl isothiocyanate (found in cabbage and radishes), allyl isothiocyanate (found in Brussels sprouts and cauliflower) and indole-3-carbinol crambene (found in all cruciferous vegetables). I’m wondering if anyone knows if one of these products has better anticancer properties than others.

[Lindsey]

Researchers have also found that vegetables, such as broccoli, contain a compound called I3C. This compound helps boost the amount of repair proteins (called BRCA proteins) in the body and might explain their protective effects against cancer.

The repair proteins, regulated by genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2, are important because they help prevent damaged genetic information being passed on to the next generation of cells.

If people have faulty BRCA genes they have an increased risk of developing some types of cancer, including ovarian, prostate, and breast cancers. Because low amounts of the BRCA proteins are seen in cancer cells, researchers suggest that higher levels might help prevent cancer from developing.

[Amy]

So, broccoli sprouts are different from eating full-grown broccoli, right? I think they look similar to alpha sprouts. Does regular broccoli have any anti-cancer effects as well?

[Samantha]

Previous studies have shown that compounds in broccoli sprouts may also reduce the risk of getting breast and colon cancer and serve as an anti-bacterial agent against Helicobacter pylori, an organism associated with stomach ulcers.

[Aiden]

Broccoli sprouts have about 30 times more isothiocyanates (ITCs) than mature broccoli, and extracts used in studies typically contain about 600 times as much. Even though high doses are used in studies, researchers believe that patients at risk for bladder cancer can benefit from the amount of ITCs normally found in food.

[QH]

Is there any evidence of using other parts of the broccoli plant for cancer prevention, such as the leaf or seeds? What about using broccoli extract; is it any different than using the plant itself?

[Dave]

Broccoli seems to have many beneficial anti-cancer properties that may be effective against different types of cancer. I read an article a few months ago that said a combination of tomatoes and broccoli may have an additive protective effect against prostate cancer.

The study evaluated combinations of tomato and broccoli in the Dunning R3327-H prostate adenocarcinoma model. Two-hundred and six male Copenhagen rats were fed diets containing 10 percent tomato, 10 percent broccoli, five percent tomato plus five percent broccoli (5:5 combination), 10 percent tomato plus 10 percent broccoli (10:10 combination) powders, or lycopene (23 or 224nmol/g diet) for about 22 weeks starting one month before receiving s.c. tumor implants.

Scientists compared the effects of diet to surgical castration (two weeks before termination) or finasteride (5mg/kg body weight orally, six days/week). Castration reduced prostate weights, tumor area, and tumor weight, whereas finasteride reduced prostate weights, but had no effect on tumor area or weight.

Lycopene at 23 or 224 nmol/g of the diet insignificantly reduced tumor weights by 7 percent or 18 percent, respectively, whereas tomato reduced tumor weight by 34 percent. Broccoli decreased tumor weights by 42 percent whereas the 10:10 combination caused a 52 percent decrease.

Tumor growth reductions were associated with reduced proliferation and increased apoptosis, as quantified by proliferating cell nuclear antigen immunohistochemistry and the ApopTag assay.

Researchers concluded that the combination of tomato and broccoli was more effective at slowing tumor growth than either tomato or broccoli alone. This supports public health recommendations to increase the intake of a variety of vegetables.

[QH]

One study looked at the content levels of sulforaphane and erucin in the seeds of various Chinese brassica species, including Chinese broccoli, kale, kohlrabi and Chinese kale. Both sulforaphane and erucin, which is an analogue of sulforaphane, exhibit cancer preventative properties. The seeds of these plants were used because there was a reported 10-time increase in concentration of isothiocyanates compared to the actual edible parts of the vegetables. The highest content of sulforaphane was found in Chinese broccoli and erucin was found mainly in cabbage and kohlrabi.

[Kim]

Sulforophanes, which broccoli contains, have been shown to reduce the number, size and reproduction of malignant tumors. They've also been shown to help prevent the occurrence of tumors. But there are plenty of other good reasons to eat broccoli…It’s rich in fiber, which fills you up, and it can help with digestion and weight loss, and it is also good for diabetics. It has the same calcium content as milk. It contains a lot of Vitamins C and A, as well as iron, which is very important for vegetarians. AND it’s been shown to help prevent arthritis, signs of aging, constipation, neuritis and high blood pressure! Plus, it tastes good. Check out here for some good broccoli salad recipes!

http://southernfood.about.com/od/broccolisaladrecipes/Broccoli_Salads.htm

[Matt]

Sulforaphane is known to induce the body to make an enzyme that prevents cancer tumor formation. It induces Phase II enzymes, which can convert reactive electrophiles to less toxic ones. It has also been seen to induce apoptosis (programmed cell death).

[Dave]

The sulforaphane found in broccoli sprouts has other activities other than anti-cancer. Other studies have seen antimicrobial and antioxidant properties as well. There has been research on its use in H. pylori (the bacteria that causes GERD and ulcers), but does anyone know if there were other bacteria it was able to fight?

[QH]

A recent European study looked at 14 different Brassica species for sulforaphane content, including cauliflower Alverda, white cabbage, broccoli Primor, San Martino and turnip. The highest content of sulforaphane was found in three-day old seedlings of San Martino, which is a type of rare cabbage. This European Brassica variety may be looked at as a new source of sulforaphane to help prevent cancer.

[QH]

According to a recent study, a diet rich in cruciferous vegetables may also reduce head and neck cancer risks. The chemicals in these foods, isothiocyanates and indoles may increase cancer metabolism and apoptosis. Patients were given the choice of either consumption of the vegetables or pills for their treatment.

[Cara]

To be clear, broccoli doesn’t CONTAIN sulforaphane, it contains unusually high amounts of glucoraphanin, the naturally-occurring precursor to sulforaphane, and those levels are between 20 and 50 times higher in broccoli sprouts than in mature broccoli heads. Sulforaphane is the reactive isothiocyanate in broccoli, and it is only created from glucoraphanin by the enzyme myrosinase, which is only released upon chewing. Once it’s formed, sulforaphane is rapidly absorbed and metabolized, and during this process it causes the formation of detoxifying and antioxidant peptides and proteins. One to two tablespoons daily of broccoli sprouts supplies your body with amounts of glucoraphanin (and ultimately, sulforaphane) comparable to eating one to two pounds of broccoli weekly.