Dec. 24, 2003
VEGETABLES THAT PREVENT MAY ULTIMATELY CURE SOME CANCERS

COLLEGE STATION – Broccoli, cabbage, turnips and mustard greens. A
dose a day keeps most cancers away.

But for those who develop cancer, the same vegetables may ultimately
produce the cure. Research at the Texas Agricultural Experiment
Station has led to a patent for a new use for derivatives of DIM, or
diindolylmethane, a natural compound derived from certain vegetables,
to treat cancer.

"We took advantage of a natural chemical, that research has shown
will prevent cancer, and developed several more analogs," said Dr.
Steve Safe, an Experiment Station chemist who has been studying
cancer for about 10 years.

Safe's patent has been picked up by Plantacor, a new biotech company
headquartered in College Station, and is expected to enter clinical
trials soon in collaboration with M.D. Anderson in Houston.

DIM already is commercially available as a natural supplement for
cancer prevention and for treating estrogen-related health issues.

"DIM is a potent substance," Safe said. "But we made it even more
potent against various tumors."

The first development in this research using chemically altered DIM
from broccoli came when the growth of breast cancer cells was
inhibited in laboratory studies. Subsequent research showed these
compounds also inhibited growth of pancreatic, colon, bladder and
ovarian cancer cells in culture, Safe said. Limited trials on lab
mice and rats have produced the similar results, he noted.

Safe said the research began by considering compounds that protect a
person from developing cancer. Journal articles of other researchers
are stacked on Safe's expansive desk, extolling the scientific
evidence that cruciferous vegetables prevent cancer.

His team wondered whether the similar compounds could be developed
for treatment of cancer. They looked at the mechanism – how the
compounds block cancer cell growth – and found that they target PPAR
gamma, a protein that is highly active in fat cells. However, this
same PPAR gamma is over-expressed in many tumors and tumor cells and
is a potential target for new drugs, he said.

Safe's lab chemically modified "natural" DIM to give a series of
compounds that target the PPAR gamma and stop the growth of cancer.

"One of the best parts is that this treatment appears to have minimal
or no side effects, in the mice trials; it just stops tumor growth,"
he said. "The hope now is that the patented chemicals can be
developed into useful drugs for clinical trials and then be used for
cancer treatment.

"It looks promising in cancer cells and animals at this time. We need
future studies in humans to see if it is beneficial with people as
well," he added.