Breast cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States, according to Medline Plus, a National Institutes of Health website. Your chance of experiencing breast cancer is a little less than one in eight in a lifetime. Indole-3-carbinol, I3C, a major bioactive compound derived from cruciferous vegetables, may be effective in preventing breast cancer.
Ligand-dependent Transcriptional Factor
Indole-3-carbinol functions as an agonist of AhR, a ligand-dependent transcriptional factor that regulates many cellular processes, including cellular response to DNA-damage, cell cycle control, apoptosis and deactivation of cancer-causing agents. Activation of the AhR also antagonizes the estrogen receptors that lie inside the cells, producing an anti-estrogenic effect biologically. Investigators from the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University believe that the anti-estrogen-action of indole-3-carbinol in reproductive tissue could help reduce the risk of estrogen-induced breast cancer.
Cell Cycle Arrest
Indole-3-carbinol has been found to arrest cell cycle when added to breast cancer cells grown in culture, says Jane Higdon, Ph.D., a professor at the Linus Pauling Institute. It also allows DNA repair if the injury is correctable or apoptosis if the damage is too severe. These DNA repair mechanisms of indole-3-carbinol are important because these protect cells from mutations, including those that foster cancer development. A decline in the repair of the genome can transform genetically damaged cells into cancerous ones.
Mitosis Cell Division
Researchers at the University of California-Berkeley have demonstrated that indole-3-carbinol stops mitosis cell division in animal breast cancer models that eventually blocks cancer progression. Such an effect of indole-3-carbinol on breast cancer cell lines in turn inhibits DNA synthesis, preventing breast cancer cells from replicating. Reproduction of cancer cells is crucial for tumor growth.
Detoxification
Indole-3-carbinol may exert a chemopreventive effect against breast cancer via inhibition of formation of DNA adducts, enhancement of the detoxification and excretion of potential carcinogens, according to Robert James Goetz, PharmD, an assistant professor of pharmacy practice at University of Cincinnati. More studies are needed, but researchers propose that indole-3-carbinol may also act against breast cancer by inducing apoptotic cell death.
References
- Medline Plus: Breast Cancer
- Oregon State University: Linus Pauling Institute: Indole-3-Carbinol; Jane Higdon; July 2005
- University of California-Berkeley: Chalk up Another One for Broccoli! Chemical in Vegetable Shown to Halt Growth of Breast Cancer Cells; Robert Sanders; Feb. 20, 1998
- Net Wellness: Efficacy of Indole-3-carbinol; Robert James Goetz; Dec. 29, 2003
