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Health News Archive 34 - Breast Cancer (con't)
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• Chemicals in Red Wine and Grape Seeds May Benefit Breast Cancer Treatment and Prevention
• Selenium May Help Protect Women from Breast Cancer

Chemicals in Red Wine and Grape Seeds May Benefit Breast Cancer Treatment and Prevention

Researchers at the City of Hope Medical Center and the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center - UCLA School of Medicine in Los Angeles, California announced that certain chemicals found in red wine and grape seeds block the formation of estrogen, a key step in breast cancer tumor development. These red wine and grape seed components could be useful in breast cancer treatment, according to research published in the December 2003 issue of the journal Cancer Research.

The chemicals, which scientists call procyanidin B dimers, naturally reduce the activity of the aromatase enzyme.  Aromatase is responsible for the conversion of androgen into the estrogen hormone, and excess estrogen causes breast cancer tumor growth in postmenopausal women, said the study’s lead author, Shiuan Chen, Ph.D., director of Surgical Research, City of Hope Cancer Center.  

“Our research suggests that fruits such as grapes contain natural substances that can act as aromatase inhibitors and can be beneficial as chemopreventative agents against breast cancer,” Dr. Chen said.  He also said aromatase inhibitors such as anastrozole, letrozole and exemestane are a new type of drug that have been shown to effectively control estrogen-dependent breast cancer development in postmenopausal women.

To search for natural substances that can suppress estrogen formation, Dr. Chen’s research team studied a red wine sample, and using several kinds of scientific analysis -- UV absorbance analysis, HPLC profiling, accurate mass-mass spectrometry and nanospray tandem mass spectrometry -- found high levels of the procyanidin B dimers, a type of phytochemical that is present in grape seeds and grape skin.

Another analysis, inhibition kinetic analysis, showed the most potent procyanidin dimer blocked the binding of androgen to aromatase.  By blocking or inhibiting the aromatase enzyme in a breast cancer tumor, an extract containing these chemicals taken orally was shown to suppress the breast cancer tumor growth in mice, Dr. Chen said.

“The results obtained from the animal studies are very important because they indicate that these phytochemicals are orally active and maintain their activity after ingested,” he said.  "There was a pretty significant reduction of tumor size in all the mice, and a number of animals ended up with no tumors."

However, Chen says that natural phytochemicals are more likely to be used in a preventive way than as treatment for breast cancer because existing drugs are far stronger. "We are talking about prevention," he says. "By having this in the diet, one can keep the estrogen at a lower level, which can be preventive for breast cancer."

Dr. Chen added "We don't support the idea of people drinking a lot of red wine, as alcohol is a risk factor for breast cancer."  For instance, he notes, that for women to ingest the comparable amount of procyanidin B dimer given to the mice, they'd have to drink a half bottle of red wine daily.

Dr. Chen and his team next will conduct a clinical trial to evaluate the anti-aromatase activity of these chemicals in women.

In 2000, a research team led by Dr. Chen, a biochemist, immunologist and authority on hormone action in breast and prostate cancer, established that red wine and white button mushrooms can suppress estrogen formation and may help prevent breast cancer in postmenopausal women.   His research has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the California Breast Cancer Research Program.

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Selenium May Help Protect Women from Breast Cancer

The June 2003 issue of Cancer Research reported that the trace mineral selenium may help prevent cancer in women whose genetic makeup puts them at higher risk of developing breast cancer. The University of Illinois researchers' finding was a result of comparing genes from 517 individuals without cancer to the genes of 79 breast cancer tissue samples. 

University of Illinois professor Dr. Alan Diamond, lead researcher explained, "For over 20 years, animal studies have shown that tiny amounts of selenium in the diet can suppress cancer in several types of organs. The animal data is very strong, but human data is just emerging. We believe there are certain proteins in mammalian cells that contain selenium that can mediate the protective effects, but proving that is difficult. The way we studied this was to look at a certain selenium-containing gene that encodes for selenium-containing proteins, then examine their nucleotide -- or genetic code -- makeup for differences. We looked to see if there were differences in the frequency of versions of these genes both in tumor cells and from DNA from people who didn't have cancer."

Researchers focused on the selenium-containing antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase. They found that cancer-free individuals had a difference in the frequency of versions of the genes for this protein compared to the frequency of genetic versions observed in breast cancer tissue. This led them to conclude that people with one version of the gene may need more selenium in order to obtain glutathione peroxidase's cancer-protective benefit.

Dr Diamond noted, "Utimately, this might influence who would most benefit from having dietary supplementary selenium."

Source: Cancer Research, June 15, 2003

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