Soybean-rich diets may halt spread of prostate cancer

Amidst the controversy surrounding soy, scientists may have found another health benefit from ‘the humble bean’. In a study published on the latest issue of Cancer Research, investigators found that genistein, a compound in soybeans and soy products, almost completely prevented the spread of human prostate cancer in mice, decreasing metastasis to the lungs by 96% compared to mice that didn’t eat the compound. For Raymond C. Bergan, the study’s lead investigator, these results show genistein’s potential as a very promising chemopreventive drug and the growing significance of diet in prostate cancer prevention.

Genistein has been shown to halt the spread of prostate cancer by preventing the detachment of cancer cells from a primary tumor and repressing cell invasion. By feeding it to groups of mice before injecting them with a potent form of prostate cancer, researchers found that while it prevented lung metastasis almost completely, it did not reduce the tumor’s size. Furthermore, genistein-fed mice were also found to have high levels of p38 MAP kinases, a protein which promotes cell migration. Nonetheless, according to Bergan, a closer investigation will show that despite the higher level of p38 MAP kinases, genistein still prevents metastasis by blocking their activation, stopping prostate cancer from spreading.

Despite the findings however, Bergan warns that much is still unknown about genistein, such that until clinical trials prove that men who consume soy-rich diets have a reduced risk for prostate cancer, results are still associative.

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