Cruciferous vegetable consumption linked to improved breast cancer

from http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-04/aafc-cvc032812.php

CHICAGO — Eating cruciferous vegetables after breast cancer diagnosis
was associated with improved survival among Chinese women, according to
results presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2012, held here March 31 -
April 4.

"Breast cancer survivors can follow the general nutritional guidelines
of eating vegetables daily and may consider increasing intake of
cruciferous vegetables, such as greens, cabbage, cauliflower and
broccoli, as part of a healthy diet," said Sarah J. Nechuta, M.P.H.,
Ph.D., a postdoctoral research fellow at Vanderbilt University in
Nashville, Tenn.

She and her colleagues investigated the role of cruciferous vegetables
in breast cancer survival in the Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Study,
a prospective study of 4,886 Chinese breast cancer survivors diagnosed
with stage 1 to stage 4 breast cancer from 2002 to 2006.

After adjusting for demographics, clinical characteristics and lifestyle
factors, the researchers found cruciferous vegetable intake during the
first 36 months after breast cancer diagnosis was associated with a
reduced risk for total mortality, breast cancer-specific mortality and
recurrence in a dose–response pattern. Across increasing quartiles of
cruciferous vegetable consumption, risk for total mortality decreased by
27 percent to 62 percent, risk for breast cancer-specific mortality
decreased by 22 percent to 62 percent, and risk for recurrence decreased
by 21 percent to 35 percent.

Nechuta noted that cruciferous vegetable consumption habits differ
between China and the United States and suggested this fact be
considered when generalizing these results to U.S. breast cancer survivors.

"Commonly consumed cruciferous vegetables in China include turnips,
Chinese cabbage/bok choy and greens, while broccoli and brussels sprouts
are the more commonly consumed cruciferous vegetables in the United
States and other Western countries," she said. "Second, the amount of
intake among Chinese women is much higher than that of U.S. women. The
level of bioactive compounds such as isothiocyanates and indoles,
proposed to play a role in the anticancer effects of cruciferous
vegetables, depend on both the amount and type of cruciferous vegetables
consumed."

She suggested that future studies with direct measurements of bioactive
compounds such as isothiocyanates and host factors that influence the
effects of these biological compounds be conducted to better understand
the association of cruciferous vegetable intake with breast cancer outcomes.