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Ruth MacDonald, professor of food science, has
found that estrogen may protect against colon cancer. Photo
by Jim Curley
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Researcher
Links Estrogen to Colon Cancer Protection
Soy compounds also found to have protective
features against the disease.
By Christian Basi
Colon cancer is the third most common form
of cancer in the United States. In 2001, 46,200 men and 52,000
women were diagnosed with new cases of colon cancer. For the first
time, a University of Missouri-Columbia researcher has shown that
estrogen may protect against the disease. In addition, the researcher
also found that soy protein may help minimize the number and size
of tumors that do occur.
“This study suggests that colon
cancer may be a hormone-responsive cancer which may provide new
ways to treat and or prevent this disease,” said Ruth MacDonald,
professor of food
science. “In addition, we discovered that soy protein
could have a very positive effect on the number and size of tumors
that do occur."
In her study, which was published in the
January 2004 edition of the Journal
of Nutrition, MacDonald fed female mice five different
diets, and then followed their progress for a year. The five diets
were designed to compare the effects of specific ingredients.
Diet one was made with milk protein, and diet two contained soy
protein. Both diets were lacking any kind of estrogen. The other
three diets contained soy protein with the addition of an estrogen
component. Diet three contained soy protein and genistein, an
estrogen-like compound found in soy. Diet four contained Novasoy,
a commercial product containing a mixture of soy-derived compounds
including genistein, and diet five contained estrone, a naturally
occurring human estrogen.
Soy sprouts grow in a petri dish. MacDonald says that soy protein may be helpful
in the prevention and control of colon cancer. Photo by MU Publications and
Alumni Communication
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Somewhat to her surprise, MacDonald found
that while all the soy/estrogen diets gave some protection, the
diet containing estrone was the most effective in preventing colon
cancer. This is the first time such a finding has been documented.
The dose of estrone the mice received was similar to levels used
in hormone replacement therapy. The researcher also discovered
that those mice that ate soy protein and did develop colon cancer
had fewer and smaller tumors than those mice that did not eat
soy protein.
“This data goes against the silver-bullet
theory and tells us that it is more beneficial to eat the food
and not the supplement,” MacDonald said. “We know
that soy protein may be helpful in the prevention of heart disease,
but this work suggests it may also be beneficial in the prevention
and control of colon cancer. The good news is that there are many
ways to add soy to your diet now and we know of no harmful side-effects
to eating soy protein.”
MacDonald, who is a faculty member in the
MU Center for Phytonutrient
and Phytochemical Studies, is continuing her study to determine
how the compounds work to provide protection from colon cancer.
The American Institute
for Cancer Research funded the study.
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Last Update:
November 15, 2007
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