Cabbage, Cauliflower , Broccoli

Vegetables have long indicated signs of being beneficial against certain types of cancer particularly in the digestive system where vegetables such as cabbage, high in fiber are known to eliminate accumulated substances such as lipids and toxic substances that may later assist in  cancer devolopment, however a previously unknown benefit was recently revealed in a joint study conducted by researchers from the Georgetown University, the Institute of Cancer Prevention and the University of Minnesota, who found that cruciferous vegetables which include Broccoli, cabbage, turnip, cauliflower and watercress had a compound identified as isothyocyanate, that may block the progression of lung cancer.

The study conducted in two stages, where the initial study observed the effect of the compound on lung tumors of mice that indicated a reduced rate of tumor development, followed by the second study which observed the effect of the compound on human lung cancer cells, which indicated similar results. "So could isothiocyanate have similar effects against other types of cancer as it did with lung cancer in the study?

"other published studies using lab animals also showed some of these compounds can inhibit the tumorigenesis in other tissues such as colon, breast and prostate" says Fung-Lung Chung Ph.D., Professor of Oncology at the Lombardi Cancer Centre at Georgetown University, who conducted the study with the wrest of the team involving 20 years of continuous research, also stated that it was a very significant finding. "But i wouldn’t say it is my biggest breakthrough", said Chung.

The findings in the study may give hope for the future use of isothiocyanate as an anti-cancer therapeutic. "We are going to identify the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which these compounds work as cancer preventive agents", says Chung who hopes to follow up these recent findings in future research.

Source: Georgetown University