Breast Tumors nutritional support and ionic minerals vanadium Cesium pH

Dietary changes that may be helpful: The following dietary changes have been studied in connection with breast cancer.

Avoidance of alcohol
An analysis of studies using the best available methodology found that women who drink alcohol have a higher risk of breast cancer compared with teetotalers.¹ Alcohol consumption during early adulthood may be more of a risk factor than alcohol consumption at a later age.²

Some,³ ⁴ though not all,⁵ studies have reported that alcohol increases estrogen levels. Increased estrogen levels might explain the increase in risk.

In a preliminary report, drinkers with low intake of folic acid had a 32% increased risk of breast cancer compared with nondrinkers; however, the excess risk was only 5% in those drinkers who consumed adequate levels of folic acid.⁶ In the same report, women taking multivitamins containing folic acid and having at least 1.5 drinks per day had a 26% lower risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer compared with women drinking the same amount of alcohol but not taking folic acid-containing vitamins.⁷

Fiber
Insoluble fiber from grains delays the onset of mammary (breast) cancer in animals.⁸ In an analysis of the data from many studies, people who eat relatively high amounts of whole grains were reported to be at low risk for breast cancer.⁹

In some studies, the protective effect of fiber against the risk of breast cancer has been stronger in young women than in older women.¹⁰ This finding might occur because fiber has been reported to lower estrogen levels in premenopausal women but not in postmenopausal women.¹¹ ¹² Other researchers, however, report that fiber appears to equally reduce the risk of breast cancer in women of all ages.¹³ One leading researcher has suggested the active components in fiber may be phytate and isoflavones, substances that may provide protection even in the absence of a decrease in estrogen levels.¹⁴ If these substances do protect against breast cancer, they might be as helpful in older women as in younger women.

Consuming a diet high in insoluble fiber is best achieved by switching from white rice to brown rice and from bakery goods made with white flour or mixed flours to 100% whole wheat bread, whole rye crackers, and whole grain pancake mixes. Refined white flour is generally listed on food packaging labels as “flour,” “enriched flour,” “unbleached flour,” “durum wheat,” “semolina,” or “white flour.” Breads containing only whole wheat are usually labeled “100% whole wheat.”

Vegetarianism
Compared with meat eaters, most,¹⁵ but not all,¹⁶ studies have found that vegetarians are less likely to be diagnosed with cancer. Vegetarians have also been shown to have stronger immune functioning, possibly explaining why vegetarians may be partially protected against cancer.¹⁷ Female vegetarians have been reported to have lower estrogen levels compared with meat-eating women, possibly explaining a lower incidence of breast cancer that has been reported in vegetarian women.¹⁸

Fruits and vegetables
An analysis of 17 studies on breast cancer risk and diet found that high consumption of vegetables was associated with a 25% decreased risk of breast cancer compared with low consumption.¹⁹ The same report analyzed 12 studies that found high consumption of fruit was associated with a 6% reduction of breast cancer incidence compared with low consumption. However, when data from only the eight largest and best studies were combined, high intake of fruits and/or vegetables did not correlate with protection from breast cancer.²⁰ Therefore, the protective effect of fruit and vegetable consumption against breast cancer remains unproven.²¹

Tomatoes
Tomatoes contain lycopene—an antioxidant similar in structure to beta-carotene. Most lycopene in our diet comes from tomatoes, though traces of lycopene exist in other foods. Lycopene has been reported to inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells in test tube research.²²

A review of published research found that higher intake of tomatoes or higher blood levels of lycopene correlated with a reduced risk of a variety of cancers in 57 of 72 studies. Findings in 35 of these studies were statistically significant.²³ Evidence of a protective effect for tomato consumption was strongest for cancers other than breast cancer (prostate, lung, and stomach cancer), but some evidence of a protective effect also appeared for breast cancer.

Meat and how it is cooked
Most,²⁴ ²⁵ but not all,²⁶ studies show that consumption of meat is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. This association probably depends in part on how well the meat is cooked. Well-done meat contains more carcinogenic material than does lightly cooked meat.²⁷ Evidence from preliminary studies shows that women who eat well-done meat have a high risk of breast cancer.²⁸ Genetic factors may determine which women increase their risk of breast cancer by eating well-done meat.²⁹

Fish
Fish eaters have been reported to have a low risk of breast cancer.³⁰ The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are thought by some researchers to be the components of fish responsible for protection against cancer.³¹

Coffee, unrelated to risk
Coffee drinking has been reported to increase breast pain associated with noncancerous lumps in the breast—a group of conditions commonly called fibrocystic breast disease. The presence of some forms of fibrocystic breast disease have been reported by some researchers to increase the risk of breast cancer.³² As a result of these separate findings, some women may be concerned coffee drinking might increase the risk of breast cancer. However, most research has shown that coffee drinkers are at no higher risk of breast cancer than are women who do not drink coffee.³³ ³⁴ ³⁵

Olive oil
Olive oil consumption has been associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer in several preliminary reports.³⁶ ³⁷ ³⁸ Oleic acid, the main fatty acid found in olive oil, does not appear to be the cause of this protective effect,³⁹ and scientists now guess that some as-yet undiscovered substance in olive oil might be responsible for the apparent protective effect of olive oil consumption.⁴⁰

The dilemma over dietary fat
Olive oil and fish are two sources of dietary fat considered potentially helpful in protecting against breast cancer.⁴¹ ⁴² ⁴³ ⁴⁴ Each has been discussed separately above. The information below discusses fat sources that some researchers are concerned might increase the risk of cancer.

High-fat diets increase the risk of mammary cancer in animals.⁴⁵ From country to country, breast cancer risk in women is proportionate to the level of total fat consumed in the diet.⁴⁶ Estrogen levels, body weight, and breast density have all been reported to decrease when women are put on low-fat diets—all changes that are thought to reduce the risk of breast cancer.⁴⁷ ⁴⁸ ⁴⁹ ⁵⁰ Moreover, breast cancer patients have been reported to reduce their chances of survival by eating a diet high in saturated fat.⁵¹ (Saturated fat is found mostly in meat and dairy fat.) Similarly, breast cancer patients have been reported to be at increased risk of suffering a recurrence if they eat higher levels of fatty foods, such as butter, margarine, red meat, and bacon.⁵²

Analysis of human trials, using a research design dependent on the memories of subjects, also has shown women consuming high-fat diets to be at high risk of breast cancer.⁵³ In some cases, the correlation has been quite strong.⁵⁴ However, most,⁵⁵ ⁵⁶ ⁵⁷ but not all,⁵⁸ “prospective” studies—which avoid problems caused by faulty memories—have not found any association between fat intake and the risk of breast cancer.

Why do some research findings suggest that fat increases the risk of cancer and other studies find no association? Some studies finding dietary fat unrelated to cancer risks have not factored out the effects of olive oil or fish fat; both may protect against cancer.⁵⁹ ⁶⁰ ⁶¹ ⁶² Adding them to the total dietary fat intake and then studying whether “more fat causes more cancer” is therefore misleading. Some studies finding no association between fat intake and breast cancer have made one or both of these errors.⁶³ ⁶⁴

Scientists know cancers caused by diet most likely occur many years after the causative foods are regularly consumed. When one group of researchers compared dietary intakes to cancer rates occurring ten years after the consumption of food, and also eliminated from consideration the effect of fat from fish consumption, they found a high degree of correlation between consumption of animal fat (other than from fish) and the risk of breast cancer death rates for women at least 50 years of age.⁶⁵

In the debate over whether dietary fat increases breast cancer risks, only one fact is indisputable: women in countries that consume high amounts of meat and dairy fat have a high risk of breast cancer, while women in countries that mostly consume rice, soy, vegetables, and fish (instead of dairy fat and meat) have a low risk of breast cancer.⁶⁶

The complex relationship between soy consumption and risk
Asian countries in which soy consumption is high generally have a low incidence of breast cancer. However, the dietary habits in these countries are so different from diets in high-risk countries that attributing protection from breast cancer specifically to soy foods on the basis of this evidence alone is premature.⁶⁷ Similarly, within a society, women who frequently consume tofu have been reported to be at low risk of breast cancer.⁶⁸ Consumption of tofu might only be a marker for other dietary or lifestyle factors that are responsible for protection against breast cancer.

Genistein, one of the isoflavones found in many soy foods, inhibits proliferation of breast cancer cells in test tube studies. Most animal studies report that soybeans and soy isoflavones protect against mammary cancer.⁶⁹ However, the protective effect in animals have occurred primarily when soy has been administered before puberty.⁷⁰ If the same holds true in humans, consuming soy products in adulthood might provide little, if any, protection against breast cancer.

The findings of several recent studies suggest that consuming soy might, under some circumstances, increase the risk of breast cancer.⁷¹ ⁷² ⁷³ ⁷⁴ ⁷⁵ When ovaries were removed from animals—a situation related to the condition of women who have had a total hysterectomy—dietary genistein was reported to increase the proliferation of breast cancer cells.⁷⁶ When pregnant rats were given genistein injections, their female offspring were reported to be at greater risk of breast cancer.⁷⁷ Although premenopausal women have shown decreases in estrogen levels in response to soy consumption,⁷⁸ ⁷⁹ proestrogenic effects have also been reported.⁸⁰ When premenopausal women were given soy isoflavones, an increase in breast secretions resulted—an effect thought to elevate the risk of breast cancer.⁸¹ In yet another trial, healthy breast cells from women previously given soy supplements containing isoflavones showed an increase in proliferation rates—an effect that might also increase the risk of breast cancer.⁸²

The commonly held belief that consuming soybeans or isoflavones such as genistein will protect against breast cancer is, therefore, far from proven.⁸³ ⁸⁴ ⁸⁵ ⁸⁶ ⁸⁷ Possibly, consuming soybeans in childhood may ultimately be proven to have a protective effect.⁸⁸ Doing the same in adulthood, however, may have very different effects.⁸⁹ ⁹⁰ ⁹¹ ⁹² ⁹³

Some scientists, at least under some circumstances, remain hopeful about the potential for soy to protect against breast cancer. These scientists recommend consumption of foods made from soy (such as tofu), as opposed to taking isoflavone supplements. Several substances in soybeans other than isoflavones have shown anticancer activity in preliminary research.⁹⁴

Reduction in sugar
Preliminary studies have reported associations between an increased intake of sugar or sugar-containing foods and an increased risk of breast cancer,⁹⁵ though this link does not appear consistently in published research.⁹⁶ Whether these associations exist because sugar directly promotes cancer or because sugar consumption is only a marker for some other dietary or lifestyle factor remains unknown.

Lifestyle changes that may be helpful: The following lifestyle changes have been studied in connection with breast cancer.

Exercise and prevention
Girls who engage in a significant amount of exercise have been reported to be less likely to get breast cancer as adults.⁹⁷ Although some doctors speculate that exercise in preadolescent girls might reduce the risk of eventually getting breast cancer by reducing the number of menstrual cycles and therefore exposure to estrogen, these effects may occur only in girls engaging in very strenuous exercise.⁹⁸

Most,⁹⁹ ¹⁰⁰ but not all,¹⁰¹ studies find that adult women who exercise are less likely to get breast cancer. Women who exercise have also been reported to have a reduced risk of high-risk mammography patterns compared with inactive women.¹⁰²

Exercise in adulthood might help protect against breast cancer by lowering blood levels of estrogen or by helping maintain ideal body weight. In addition to the preventive effects of exercise, aerobic exercise has been reported to reduce depression and anxiety in women already diagnosed with breast cancer.¹⁰³

Smoking and risk
Some studies have found an association between smoking and an increased risk of breast cancer, including exposure to secondhand smoke.¹⁰⁴ However, several reports have either found no association¹⁰⁵ or have reported an association between smoking and an apparent protection against breast cancer.¹⁰⁶ Some of the studies reporting that smoking is detrimental have found that exposure to cigarette smoke during childhood appears to be most likely to increase the risk of breast cancer.¹⁰⁷

The mind-body connection
In some studies, the risk of breast cancer has been reported to be higher in women who have experienced major (though not minor) depression in the years preceding diagnosis.¹⁰⁸ Some,¹⁰⁹ ¹¹⁰ but not all,¹¹¹ studies have found that exposure to severely stressful events increases a woman’s chance of developing breast cancer. In one study, breast cancer patients exposed to severely stressful events, such as death of a spouse or divorce, had more than five times the risk of suffering a recurrence compared with women not exposed to such stressors.¹¹² Although stress has long been considered as a possible risk factor, some studies have not found significant correlations between psychological stressors and breast cancer risk¹¹³ or the risk of breast cancer recurrence.¹¹⁴ Similarly, experiencing psychological distress (independent of external stressors) has, in some reports, not been associated with a reduction in survival or the risk of suffering a breast cancer recurrence.¹¹⁵

Exposure to psychological stress has been reported to weaken the immune system of breast cancer patients.¹¹⁶ Strong social support has been reported to increase immune function in breast cancer patients.¹¹⁷ These findings suggest a possible way in which the mind might play a role in affecting the risk of a breast cancer recurrence.¹¹⁸ ¹¹⁹

In one study, breast cancer patients with strong social support in the months following surgery had only half the risk of dying from the disease during a seven-year period compared with patients who lacked anyone to confide in.¹²⁰ After 10¹²¹ and 15 years,¹²² breast cancer patients with a helpless and hopeless attitude or with an attitude of stoicism were much less likely to survive compared with women who had what the researchers called a “fighting spirit.” In a five-year study, the same helpless/hopeless attitude correlated with an increased risk of recurrence or death in breast cancer patients, but a “fighting spirit” did not correlate with special protection against recurrence or death.¹²³ One trial reported that psychological therapy for hopeless/helpless breast cancer patients was capable of changing these attitudes and reducing psychological distress in only eight weeks.¹²⁴

Several trials using a variety of psychological interventions have reported increased life expectancy in women receiving counseling or psychotherapy compared with women who did not receive psychological intervention¹²⁵ —even in women with late-stage disease.¹²⁶ In a now-famous trial, late-stage breast cancer patients in a year-long, 90-minute-per-week support group lived on average twice as long as a group of similar patients who did not receive such support.¹²⁷

Finally, relaxation training has been reported to reduce psychological distress in breast cancer patients,¹²⁸ and group therapy and hypnosis have reduced pain in late-stage breast cancer patients.¹²⁹

Even extensive psychological support (weekly peer support, family therapy, individual counseling, and use of positive mental imagery) has not led to a clear increase in breast cancer survival in every study.¹³⁰ Why some studies clearly find mind-body connections in regard to breast cancer risk, recurrence, or survival, while other studies find no such connection, remains unclear.

Overweight and risk
Being overweight increases the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, a fact widely accepted by the research community. Overweight does not increase the risk of premenopausal breast cancer and even may be associated with a slightly reduced risk of breast cancer in young women.¹³¹

Nutritional supplements that may be helpful: The following nutritional supplements have been studied in connection with breast cancer.

Folic acid supplements
Among women who drink alcohol, those who consume relatively high amounts of folate from their diet have been reported to be at reduced risk of breast cancer, compared with women who drink alcohol but consumed less folate, according to a preliminary study.¹³² In a similar report, consumption of folic acid-containing supplements was associated with a lower risk of breast cancer in women who drank alcohol, compared with women who drank alcohol but did not take such supplements.¹³³

The damaging effect alcohol has on DNA—the material responsible for normal replication of cells—is partially reversed by folic acid. Therefore, a potential association between both dietary folate and folic acid supplements and protection against breast cancer in women who drink alcohol is consistent with our understanding of the biochemical effects of these substances. A combined intake from food and supplements of at least 600 mcg per day was associated with a 43% reduced risk of breast cancer in women who consumed 1.5 drinks per day or more, compared with women who drank the same amount but did not take folic acid-containing supplements.¹³⁴

No research has yet explored the effect of folic acid supplementation in people who have already been diagnosed with cancer. Cancer patients taking the chemotherapy drug methotrexate must not take folic acid supplements without the direction of their oncologist.

Selenium supplements
The association between relatively higher blood levels of selenium and lower risks of cancer in men has been fairly consistent.¹³⁵ ¹³⁶ ¹³⁷ However, most,¹³⁸ ¹³⁹ ¹⁴⁰ ¹⁴¹ though not all,¹⁴² studies have found selenium status to be unrelated to cancer risk in women, particularly in relation to cancers that strike only women. In fact, a few studies have reported that exposure to higher amounts of selenium¹⁴³ —including selenium from supplements¹⁴⁴ —is associated with a higher risk of several cancers in women, though these studies have been criticized.¹⁴⁵

In a famous double-blind trial that reported dramatic reductions in the incidence of lung, colon, and prostate cancers as a result of selenium supplementation, of the few women who got breast cancer during the trial, more were taking selenium than were taking placebo, though this difference may well have been due to chance.¹⁴⁶ Thus, the findings of this famous trial also do not support the idea that selenium supplementation protects against breast cancer.¹⁴⁷

In contrast, animal studies generally find that selenium helps protect against mammary cancer,¹⁴⁸ ¹⁴⁹ and associations between higher selenium status and decreased risk of breast cancer in women have also occasionally been reported.¹⁵⁰ ¹⁵¹ Despite these hopeful findings, most studies suggest that higher selenium status confers no protection against breast cancer.¹⁵² ¹⁵³ ¹⁵⁴ ¹⁵⁵ ¹⁵⁶ ¹⁵⁷ ¹⁵⁸

Vitamin E supplements
Although some preliminary evidence suggests that vitamin E may protect against breast cancer,¹⁵⁹ ¹⁶⁰ most research does not suggest a protective effect.¹⁶¹ ¹⁶² ¹⁶³ In a preliminary study, women taking vitamin E supplements had the same risk of breast cancer as did other women.¹⁶⁴ However, in one study, women with of low blood levels of both selenium and vitamin E had a tenfold higher risk of breast cancer compared with women having higher levels of both nutrients.¹⁶⁵ Although vitamin E and selenium function together in the body, the meaning of this dramatic finding is not clear;most studies examining the effects of vitamin E or selenium separately have suggested that neither protects against breast cancer.

Although one form of vitamin E—alpha tocopheryl succinate—has been touted as a potential treatment for women with breast cancer, only test tube studies suggest that it may have anticancer activity,¹⁶⁶ and no trials have been conducted in breast cancer patients.

Vitamin D
Breast cancer rates have been reported to be relatively high in areas of low exposure to sunlight.¹⁶⁷ Sunlight triggers the formation of vitamin D in the skin, which can be activated in the liver and kidneys into a hormone with great activity. This activated form of vitamin D causes “cellular differentiation”—essentially the opposite of cancer.

The following evidence indicates that vitamin D might have a protective role against breast cancer:

Synthetic vitamin D-like molecules have prevented the equivalent of breast cancer in animals.¹⁶⁸
Activated vitamin D appears to have antiestrogenic activity.¹⁶⁹
Both sunlight and dietary exposure to vitamin D have correlated with a reduced risk of breast cancer.¹⁷⁰

Activated vitamin D
Activated vitamin D comes in several forms. One of them—1,25 dihydroxycholecalciferol—is an exact duplicate of the hormone made in the human body.

The following preliminary, non-clinical evidence supports the idea that activated vitamin D may be of help to some breast cancer patients:

In combination with tamoxifen, a synthetic, activated-vitamin D-like molecule has inhibited the growth of breast cancer cells in test tube research.¹⁷¹
Synthetic vitamin D-like molecules induce tumor cell death in breast cancer cells.¹⁷²
Activated vitamin D suppresses the growth of human cancer cells transplanted into animals.¹⁷³
In test tube research, activated vitamin D has increased the anticancer action of chemotherapy.¹⁷⁴

In a preliminary trial, activated vitamin D was applied topically to the breast, once per day for six weeks, in 19 patients with breast cancer.¹⁷⁵ Of the 14 patients who completed the trial, three showed a large reduction in tumor size, and one showed a minor improvement. Those who responded had tumors that contained receptors for activated vitamin D. However, other preliminary reports have not found that high levels of these receptors consistently correlate with a better outcome.¹⁷⁶ ¹⁷⁷ ¹⁷⁸

With a doctor’s prescription, compounding pharmacists can put activated vitamin D, a hormone, into a topical ointment. Due to potential toxicity, use of this hormone, even topically, requires careful monitoring by a physician. Standard vitamin D supplements are unlikely to duplicate the effects of activated vitamin D in women with breast cancer. The patients in the breast cancer trial all had locally advanced disease.

Melatonin
Melatonin has been reported to have anticancer activity against breast cancer cells in most¹⁷⁹ ¹⁸⁰ though not all¹⁸¹ test tube studies. In a preliminary trial, breast cancer patients were studied who previously had responded either not at all or only temporarily to treatment with the drug tamoxifen.¹⁸² During the trial, these women were given tamoxifen again, this time with added melatonin. Blood levels of IGF-1, a marker for progression of breast cancer, declined significantly. Of fourteen patients, four showed evidence of tumor shrinkage that lasted an average of eight months.

Most cancer trials studying the effects of melatonin have used 20 mg of melatonin per 24 hours, all taken at bedtime.¹⁸³ ¹⁸⁴ ¹⁸⁵ ¹⁸⁶ ¹⁸⁷ ¹⁸⁸ ¹⁸⁹ ¹⁹⁰ ¹⁹¹ ¹⁹² ¹⁹³ ¹⁹⁴ No one should take such a high amount of this hormone without the supervision of a healthcare professional.

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)
French researchers have reported that the lower the blood level of CoQ10 in breast cancer patients, the worse the chance of remaining free of disease.¹⁹⁵ For several years, researchers from Denmark and the United States have been studying the effects CoQ10 in a group of 32 breast cancer patients who were either at high risk of suffering a recurrence or had already been diagnosed with advanced disease.¹⁹⁶ After 18 months, only one patient had suffered a recurrence, all were still alive, those who did not have advanced disease at the beginning of the trial had not progressed to advanced disease, one patient with advanced disease had stabilized, and two patients with advanced disease had significantly improved.¹⁹⁷ Patients continued to do well after two years of supplementation,¹⁹⁸ and after three to five years, surprising improvements were reported in two patients who had had advanced disease at the beginning of the trial.¹⁹⁹

At first, 90 mg of CoQ10 per day was used. In subsequent reports, the amount of CoQ10 was increased until some women were receiving 390 mg per day.²⁰⁰ Initially, the CoQ10 was accompanied by the use of many other supplements.²⁰¹ The researchers of this trial have attributed the therapeutic effects observed primarily to CoQ10 and, in later reports, no further mention of other supplements was made.²⁰² ²⁰³ ²⁰⁴

This preliminary investigation has been conducted with no control group, and published reports have provided only sketchy details about the conditions of most of the women being studied. Some of the patients were given conventional treatments along with CoQ10. Therefore, CoQ10 remains unproven as a cancer treatment.

Fiber
Although fiber is available in supplement form (such as Metamucil®), most fiber consumption results from eating food. Preliminary evidence suggests that high fiber consumption may reduce the risk of breast cancer. See the discussion of fiber and possible prevention of breast cancer in Dietary changes, above.

Indole-3-carbinol
Cruciferous vegetables—broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and cabbage—contain a substance called indole-3-carbinol (I3C). In preliminary research, I3C has been reported to affect the metabolism of estrogen in a way that might protect against breast cancer,²⁰⁵ an idea supported by animal²⁰⁶ and test tube research.²⁰⁷ No research trials have yet investigated the effects of I3C supplementation in women with breast cancer.

Diindolylmethane
Diindolylmethane is a substance also found in cruciferous vegetables. Test tube²⁰⁸ and animal studies²⁰⁹ suggest that it may help protect against breast cancer. However, no clinical trials with cancer patients given diindolylmethane have yet been published.

Calcium D-glucarate (D-Glucaric acid)
Calcium D-glucarate is available as a supplement, and it is also found in fruits and vegetables in a slightly altered form—D-glucaric acid.²¹⁰ Preliminary evidence suggests that calcium D-glucarate indirectly helps the body lower its burden of estrogen, an effect that may reduce the risk of breast cancer.²¹¹ Although animal research supports such a possibility,²¹² no human trials have been published to evaluate whether calcium D-glucarate has a therapeutic or preventive effect.

Vanadium effective in fighting cancer cells

May 3, 2000, Saint Paul, Minn. ( In a systematic effort to develop effective drugs with a broad spectrum and potent anti-cancer activity, researchers at the St. Paul, Minn.-based Parker Hughes Institute have developed 24 new drugs containing the metal vanadium. The results of this research are published in this months issue of Clinical Cancer Research, the official scientific journal of the American Association of Cancer Research.

These novel drugs were effective against 14 of 14 different cancer cell lines as well as cancer cells taken directly from patients. Targeted cancer cells included those of breast cancer, prostate cancer, testicular cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer, brain tumors, leukemia and lymphoma. These new anti-cancer drugs work by causing the cancer cells to commit suicide (or apoptosis) within 4 to 24 hours.
These drugs are now being tested in animal safety studies to identify those that have the best therapeutic index.

References Narla RK, Dong Y, DÕCruz OJ, Navara C, Uckun FM. Bis (4,7-dimethyl-1, 10-phenanthroline) sulfatooxovanadium as a novel apoptosis-inducing anticancer agent. Clinical Cancer Re56, 2000.

IP-6
IP-6 (also called inositol hexaphosphate, phytate, or phytic acid) is found in many foods, particularly oat bran, wheat bran, and unleavened (flat) bread. Until recently, most IP-6 research focused on interference with the absorption of minerals—a side effect of consuming IP-6. More recently, however, animal studies have found that IP-6 has anticancer activity.²¹³ No human trials using IP-6 supplements to prevent or treat breast cancer have yet been published.

Soy isoflavones, including genistein
No research has directly investigated whether soy isoflavone supplements prevent breast cancer or help people already diagnosed with this disease. Nonetheless, considerable preliminary information has been gathered about the relationship between soy isoflavones and breast cancer. For more information, see the discussion about soy in Dietary changes, above.

Are there any side effects or interactions? Refer to the individual supplement for information about any side effects or interactions.

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