Crystal Nelson
Broccoli not only contains many vitamins and minerals, but also an active ingredient against particularly aggressive cancer cells, in which all drugs fail.
Green vegetables are healthy. Broccoli is currently the focus of research. The cabbage contains an active ingredient against pancreatic cancer. The ingredient sulforaphane even weakens particularly insidious tumor stem cells and makes them vulnerable, report researchers from the University of Heidelberg and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). So far, even the most modern drugs, which are highly effective in other types of cancer, have not been able to do anything against pancreatic cancer. More than 12,000 people in Germany contract this aggressive cancer every year. They rarely survive the diagnosis for more than a year.
New hope for cancer patients
“In other tumors, less than three percent of the cancer cells are usually tumor stem cells. Pancreatic carcinoma, on the other hand, harbors ten percent or more of such aggressive cells,” explains the leader of the study, Prof. Ingrid Herr. These cells protect themselves with a special mechanism. The active ingredient sulforaphane contained in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, or kale paralyzes this protective mechanism – without any side effects in animal experiments. It protects the body’s cells from damage to the genetic material and initiates cell death when cancer cells divide uncontrollably. This effect is amplified in combination with cancer drugs.
Already last year, a large-scale Canadian study with 1,338 patients suffering from prostate cancer showed that high consumption of broccoli and cauliflower can protect against metastasizing of the tumor. The Heidelberg scientists are now starting a clinical study with the broccoli active substance: Patients with pancreatic cancer receive sulforaphane in addition to conventional therapy. Herr: “We want to check whether the patients benefit from the additional intake of sulforaphane, what amount is necessary, and whether the consumption of broccoli and cauliflower alone can support cancer therapy.”
