Private MD News

Soy may slow the growth of prostate cancer

Category: Prostate

Soy products may not be at the top of too many men's shopping lists, but new research from Northwestern University researchers has shown that a nutrient in the food may help reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

The investigators reported at a recent conference of the American Association for Cancer Research that the cancer cells of men who ate higher levels of soy-enriched food were less developed and posed a lower risk. Men who have received positive PSA tests may benefit from adding more soy to their diet.

After studying the cells, Raymond Bergan, who led the investigation, said that a nutrient in soy called genistein appeared to turn on genes that prevent the spread of cancer cells. This may keep them localized and stop the spread of the disease to other areas of the body.

"All therapies designed to stop cancer cell movement that have been tested to date in humans have basically failed have because they have been ineffective or toxic," Bergan said. "If this drug can effectively stop prostate cancer from moving in the body, theoretically, a similar therapy could have the same effect on the cells of other cancers."