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Natural plant substance prevents the development of breast cancer
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
The natural plant substance phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) inhibits the development of mammary tumors in GM mice "rewarded" with advanced breast cancer similar to human cancer.
PEITC has previously demonstrated efficacy as a chemoprophylactic agent in mice with colon, intestinal and prostate cancer by inducing apoptosis (cell death).
To test the efficacy of PEITC on mammary tumors in rodents, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute fed animals a control diet and a diet supplemented with phenethyl isothiocyanate for 29 weeks. During the experiment, histopathological examinations were performed, tumor sizes were measured, and apoptosis, cell proliferation (cell division), and neoangiogenesis (blood vessel formation) were assessed.
It turned out that 29 weeks of PEITC use was associated with a 56.3% reduction in breast carcinoma tumors larger than 2 mm. And although the plant substance was unable to provide complete protection against carcinogenesis (the formation and development of a malignant tumor), mice on a PEITC diet showed suppression of tumor progression.
Because research into preventative chemotherapy is time-consuming and expensive, the authors believe that biomarker discovery is essential for the clinical development of promising cancer-preventive chemotherapy drugs. The study, they say, has identified specific biomarkers that could be useful in future clinical trials.
Carcinoma (from the ancient Greek καρκίνος - "crab", -ωμα from ὄγκωμα - "tumor"), cancer is a type of malignant tumor that develops from the cells of the epithelial tissue of various organs (skin, mucous membranes and many internal organs).
The incidence of malignant tumors is constantly growing. Every year, about 6 million new cases of malignant tumors are registered in the world. The highest incidence among men is noted in France (361 per 100,000 population), among women in Brazil (283.4 per 100,000). This is partly due to the aging of the population. It should be noted that most tumors develop in people over 50 years old, and every second cancer patient is over 60 years old. The most frequently affected organs are the prostate gland and lungs in men and the mammary gland in women. Mortality from cancer ranks second in the world after cardiovascular diseases.
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