Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower contain compounds that reduce the risk of hereditary cancers. The beneficial compound in these vegetables is sulforaphane (SFN).
Researchers have known that the compound can fight cancer caused by carcinogens, but now they've found it also fights those caused by genetics.
The researchers used mice that had been specially bred to carry a mutation that switches off a gene that suppresses tumors (the same gene that's related to colon cancer development in humans). When the gene is inactivated, polyps that lead to tumors develop in the small intestine.
In the study, one group of mice was fed a diet supplemented with 300 parts per million (ppm) of SFN. Another group was fed a diet supplemented with 600 ppm of SFN.
Three weeks later, mice fed the 300-ppm diet had an average of 25 percent fewer polyps in the small intestine compared to mice fed no SFN. Polyps decreased 47 percent in the 600-ppm group.
The researchers believe SFN suppressed certain enzymes that are active in mice and humans with colon cancer. They recommended that SFN be evaluated clinically for its cancer-preventative effects in humans.