Grain And Berry Phytoestrogens May Affect Cancer Risk Through The Estrogen Signalling System

Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology;  Breast Cancer
Article Date: 29 Dec 2006 - 0:00 PDT

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Can dietary phytoestrogens play a role in reduction of breast cancer risk? This is one of the crucial questions for a research project dealing with a subgroup of phytoestrogens called lignans, conducted within the CASCADE Network of Excellence. Lignans are naturally found in grains, berries and vegetables.

Recent CASCADE research has shown that lignans affect the estrogen signalling system. Earlier results by several research groups have shown that lignans delay or inhibit mammary tumour growth in experimental models, but their mechanism of action was unclear. These new CASCADE findings shed light on the process.

“Estrogens are key players in breast cancer development and progression. Our current findings show that dietary lignans can interact with the estrogen signalling system, and may therefore have a potential to affect breast cancer risk” says Professor Sari Mäkelä, CASCADE researcher and professor at University of Turku.

The effects of certain food components on disease risks are of major interest, as the new EU regulations on health claims in foods will soon be finalized. CASCADE research will hopefully contribute to this development through further studies on the effects of phytoestrogens on cancer. This is in line with CASCADE’s mission to provide reliable information for consumers and authorities on endocrine active compounds in foods.

CASCADE, coordinated by Karolinska Institutet, will present this phytoestrogen research at a large event in Brussels organised by the European Commission on December 12, 2006 called “Food Quality and Safety Research: First Results from FP6”. Speaker is CASCADE researcher Professor Sari Makela, University of Turku.

CASCADE brings 24 research groups from nine EU member states together in a network for durable coordination and integration of research on chemical residues in food. The network is financed by the European Commission with 14.4 million € over five years for its research, integration, teaching, information, and risk assessment activities during 2004-2009. CASCADE is coordinated by Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

http://www.cascadenet.org