Following on the heels of Angelina Jolie's widely celebrated decision to remove her breasts 'preventively,' few truly understand how important preventing environmental chemical exposures and incorporating cancer-preventing foods into their diet really is in reducing the risk of gene-mediated breast cancer.
There is so much fear and misinformation surrounding the so-called 'Breast Cancer Associated' genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, that it should help to dispel some prevailing myths by looking at the crucial role that epigenetic factors play in their expression. Literally 'above' (epi) or 'beyond' the control of the genes, these factors include environmental chemical exposures, nutrition and stress, which profoundly affect cancer risk within us all, regardless of what variant ('mutated' or 'wild')* that we happen to carry within our genomes.
In 2012, a very important study was published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry that looked at the role a natural compound called resveratrol may play in preventing the inactivation of the BRCA-1 gene. BRCA-1 is known as a "caretaker" gene because it is responsible for healing up double-strand breaks within our DNA. When the BRCA-1 gene is rendered dysfunctional or becomes inactivated, either through a congenital/germline inheritance of DNA defects ('mutation') or through chemical exposures, the result is the same: harm to the DNA repair mechanisms within the affected cells (particularly breast and ovary; possibly testicular), hence increasing the risk of cancer.
Ironically, while the prevalence of a "bad" inherited BRCA1 variation is actually quite low relative to the general population (A 2003 study found only 6.6% of breast cancer patients even have either a BRCA1 and BRCA2 germline mutation[1]), everyone's BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are susceptible to damage from environmental chemical exposures, most particularly xenobiotic (non-natural) chemicals and radiation. This means that instead of looking to a set of "bad" genes as the primary cause of cancer, we should be looking to avoid exposing both our "bad" and "good" genes alike to preventable chemical exposures, as well as avoiding nutrient deficiencies and/or incompatibilities, which also play a vital role in enabling us to express or silence cancer-associated genes. [For more on why genes don't "cause" disease see: The Great DNA Data Deficit.]
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It's Breast Cancer Awareness Month,
when companies love to showcase pink packaging...but sometimes, what's
inside those packages isn't so healthy. So we've rounded up 8 naturally
pink foods that have all been shown to help keep away breast cancer.
Always choose organic to avoid pesticides and toxins. Go, Mother Nature!
A compound called indole-3-carbinol (also rich in cruciferous vegetables) is now being researched for its potential to significantly reduce the incidence of breast cancer.
These gem-like fruits may prevent breast cancer, lab studies suggest, by blocking a certain enzyme (aromatase) that converts androgen to estrogen.
Extract of red beetroot has been shown to help suppress multi-organ tumors in lab tests, and experts are considering using them in combination with traditional anticancer drugs to reduce their toxic side effects.
High in antioxidants, these have been shown to help reduce the spread of breast cancer cells. Additionally, a lab study with Japanese radish sprouts significantly lowered the incidence of mammary tumors.
Read More HereRed cabbage
A compound called indole-3-carbinol (also rich in cruciferous vegetables) is now being researched for its potential to significantly reduce the incidence of breast cancer.
Pomegranates
These gem-like fruits may prevent breast cancer, lab studies suggest, by blocking a certain enzyme (aromatase) that converts androgen to estrogen.
Beets
Extract of red beetroot has been shown to help suppress multi-organ tumors in lab tests, and experts are considering using them in combination with traditional anticancer drugs to reduce their toxic side effects.
Radishes
High in antioxidants, these have been shown to help reduce the spread of breast cancer cells. Additionally, a lab study with Japanese radish sprouts significantly lowered the incidence of mammary tumors.
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Research: Ginger Selectively Kills Breast Cancer Cells
New research published in the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology found that "ginger may be a promising candidate for the treatment of breast carcinomas."[i] This is a timely finding, insofar as breast cancer awareness month is only days away, and one of the primary fund-raising justifications is the false concept that a low-cost, safe and effective breast cancer treatment is not yet available. Could ginger provide the type of cure that conventional, FDA-approved treatments have yet to accomplish?
The new study was performed by researchers at the Biological Sciences Department, Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia, who discovered that a crude extract derived from the medicinal plant ginger (Zingiber officinale) inhibited the proliferation of breast cancer cells, without significantly affecting the viability of non-tumor breast cells -- a highly promising property known as selective cytotoxicity, not found in conventional treatments.
The researchers outline the serious problems with present breast cancer therapies thusly:
Despite significant advances toward targeted therapy and screening techniques, breast cancer continues to be a chronic medical problem worldwide, being the most common type of cancer in women and the leading cause of death [1]. Typically, the treatment of breast cancer involves hormonal therapy with tamoxifen or other selective estrogen receptor (ER) modulators [2–4]. However, almost all patients with metastatic disease and approximately 40% of patients that receive tamoxifen experience relapse that ends by death [5]. In addition, the clinical utility of ER antagonists is often limited by side effects [2, 3, 6] and is largely ineffective against ER-negative breast cancer [2, 3]. Furthermore, despite the fact that many tumors initially respond to chemotherapy, breast cancer cells can subsequently survive and gain resistance to the treatment [7]. Thus, identification of novel agents that are relatively safe but can suppress growth of both ER-positive and ER-negative human breast cancers is highly desirable.They described their interest in investigating crude extracts of ginger in the following manner:
Despite knowledge about the potent anticancer activity of the ginger, the molecular mechanisms underlying this activity are not currently well known in breast cancer. Based on the previously mentioned reported scientific data and considering the fact that in some cases herbal extracts are showing more potency than the purified components [21, 22], the present study was undertaken to investigate the impacts of crude extracts of ginger on growth of breast cancer cell lines.They discovered that ginger was capable of positively modulating a surprisingly wide range of molecular mechanisms simultaneously, such as:
- Induction of apoptosis (programmed cell death)
- Upregulation of Bax (a pro-apoptosis gene)
- Downregulation of Bcl-2 proteins (cancer-associated)
- Downregulation of prosurvival genes NF-κB, Bcl-X, Mcl-1, and Survivin
- Downregulation of cell cycle-regulating proteins, including cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinase-4 (CDK-4). (cancer-associated)
- Increased expression of CDK inhibitor, p21 (anti-cancer associated)
- Inhibition of c-Myc, hTERT (cancer-associated)
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Eating Flaxseed May Reduce Breast Cancer Mortality By Up To 70%
Mainstream medicine continues to push women to get yearly mammograms as a way to defend themselves against the epidemic of deadly breast cancer. However, mammograms do nothing to prevent the disease or improve survival rates. But the amazing little flaxseed does.
Scores of studies reveal the anticancer effects of flaxseed. Researchers from the University of Toronto recently reviewed the literature to answer questions about the compounds found in flaxseed and how effective they are in reducing breast cancer risk and tumor growth, and whether flaxseeds interact beneficially with breast cancer drugs.
They reviewed in vitro, animal, observational, and clinical studies on flaxseed and flaxseed oil, as well as lignans found in flaxseed.
Lignans are a class of phytoestrogens or plant estrogens that also act as antioxidants. Other foods also contain lignans including sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, grains (rye, barley, wheat and oats), broccoli and beans. But flaxseed has hundreds of times the amount of lignans as any of the others.
The University of Toronto review documents the amazing power of flaxseed to prevent and slow the growth of breast cancer. Here's what the studies tell us:
- The majority of animal studies show a diet of 2.5%-10% flaxseed or the equivalent amount of lignan or flaxseed oil reduces tumor growth.
- Diets consisting of 10% flaxseed and the equivalent amount of lignans do not interfere with but rather increase the effectiveness of tamoxifen. A diet of 4% flaxseed oil increases trastuzumab/Herceptin effectiveness.
- Observational studies show flaxseed and lignan intake, urinary excretion, or serum levels are associated with reduced breast cancer risk, particularly in postmenopausal women.
- Lignans reduce breast cancer mortality by 33% to 70%. They also reduce all-cause mortality by 40%-53%. In both cases, lignans do not reduce the effectiveness of Tamoxifen.
- Clinical trials show that taking 25 grams per day of flaxseed (containing 50 mg lignans) for 32 days reduces tumor growth in breast cancer patients.
- Taking 50 mg of lignans for one year reduces breast cancer risk in premenopausal women.
- Flaxseeds decrease tumor cell proliferation. When eaten, lignans in flaxseeds are broken down by bacteria in the gut into 2 estrogen-like compounds that circulate through the liver. These compounds have been proven in animal studies to help prevent breast cancer by preventing tumor growth.
- Lignans block tumor blood supply. Tumors need angiogenesis - new blood vessels - to supply oxygen and nutrients for growth. Flaxseeds inhibit the growth factor needed to stimulate angiogenesis according to animal studies.
- Lignans lower estrogen production. Lignans block aromatase, the enzyme involved in the production of estrogen. Blocking the enzyme lowers estrogen production. High estrogen levels have been linked to the growth of breast cancer.
Read More Here
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A new turmeric study published in Cancer Letters is paving the way for a revolution in the way that we both understand and treat cancer. Titled, "Targeting cancer stem cells by curcumin and clinical applications," U.S. researchers evaluated the primary polyphenol in the Indian spice known as curcumin for its ability to target cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are believed to be at the root cause of tumor formation and malignancy.
Whereas conventional models of cancer assumed that the majority of the cancer cells within a tumor possess self-renewal capacity to differing degrees, the CSC model proposes that, "[T]he initiation, maintenance, and growth of a tumor is driven by a minor population of cancer cells termed cancer stem cells (CSCs)," and that "These CSCs undergo continuous self-renewal and differentiate to heterogeneous cancer cells, yielding new tumors recapitulating the parental tumors, while the majority of cancer cells lack self-renewal capacity."
In other words, the CSCs are at the apex of a hierarchy of cells within the tumor, and are the "mother" of the various daughter cells that make it up, most of which are intrinsically benign. Conventional treatment with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, based on a rodent model with a 2-year experimental window to evaluate treatment efficacy and safety, was incapable of comprehending the CSC-mediated cause of post-treatment tumor recurrence, which in humans can take decades after initial treatment to manifest. Although it was possible to debulk a tumor with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, CSC populations were often missed or even enriched as a result. When the tumor mass regrew it often became more invasive and treatment-resistant, resulting in the rapid demise and death of the patient -- deaths which are often written off inaccurately or disingenuously as non-treatment related.
Given that conventional treatment can drive an intrinsically benign tumor (i.e., so-called indolent tumors) into greater invasiveness through increasing the number of intrinsically resilient cancer stem cells at the very same moment that it kills the less or non-harmful daughter cells, alternative treatment approaches are needed now more than ever.
Read More Here
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Research: Curcumin Is A Triple Negative Breast Cancer Killer
A new study from Zheijian Provincial People's Hospital in Zheijiang, China indicates that a compound in turmeric known as curcumin, which gives the spice its characteristic saffron-like color, is capable of inducing programmed cell death (apoptosis) within triple negative breast cancer cells.1
Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), so named because the cells do not have the characteristic receptors for estrogen, progesterone and Her2/neu, is considered the most treatment resistant, primarily because these 'missing receptors' are required for many of the most popular conventional treatments to work, e.g. Tamoxifen targets estrogen receptors. For this reason, TNBC is considered the most aggressive, the most likely to be treated with less-targeted (and therefore more toxic) forms of chemotherapy, and the soonest to return when treatment fails.
Approximately 15-25% of all breast cancer cases are triple negative. Unfortunately, however, the most visible non-profit foundation dedicated to bringing awareness to the condition, the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation, is focused almost exclusively on raising awareness and money for a future pharmaceutical "cure" – much in the same way as its partner, Susan G. Komen, and the larger breast cancer awareness organization, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, act as if removing and addressing the obvious causes of cancer, e.g. carcinogenic chemical and radiation exposures, were not the first priority. For those suffering through or recovering from treatment right now, or trying to decide what to do with a new diagnosis, this latest Chinese study is promising.
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