Broccoli is highly recommended for breast cancer

Broccoli and broccoli sprouts have been shown to suppress inflammation and to be cardioprotective. In addition, broccoli can inhibit urinary bladder carcinogenesis, and reduce the risk of occurrence of multiple myeloma and lung, gallbladder, ovarian, cervical, stomach, prostate, small intestine and colorectal cancer.

Breast cancer-related effects of eating broccoli

Broccoli contains numerous substances with suspected or demonstrated cancer fighting properties, including sulforaphane, quercetin, sinigrin, enterolactone, kaempferol glycosides, beta-carotene, indole-3-carbinol (I3C), 3,3'-diindolylmethane (DIM), and several other glucosinolates. Broccoli has been found to promote apoptosis, suppress cell cycle progression and inhibit angiogenesis of human breast cancer cells. Consumption of broccoli has been shown to reduce the estrogen metabolite 16alpha-hydroxyestrone, which is a breast cancer promoter, and to be marginally inversely associated with breast cancer risk in a population of premenopausal women. Broccoli components quercetin, I3C and sulforaphane have all been shown increase the anti-cancer effects of the chemotherapy drug Taxol (paclitaxel). Broccoli sprouts are particularly rich in anticancer nutrients.

Additional comments

Broccoli sprouts generally are safer to eat compared to some other sprouts (for example, alfalfa sprouts, which have been linked to a number of food-borne disease outbreaks due to salmonella and E. coli). Stir frying preserves most of the presumed cancer-fighting chemicals in broccoli whereas after boiling only 14-28% of the individual glucosides are retained in the cooked tissue (most of the remainder being leached into the water). Similarly, if broccoli is microwaved, it should be done for the shortest period of time and with the least amount of water possible to minimize leaching of phenolic compounds and glucosinolates into water.

We recommend consuming broccoli as food and against consuming broccoli pills that have been enhanced to boost the proportion of the presumed key anti-cancer chemicals in broccoli. There is some evidence that concentrated cruciferous vegetable extracts can act as estrogen agonists and promote breast cancer cell proliferation. Also, the anticancer properties of broccoli are likely to be the result of synergistic interaction of its various chemical components - isolated components have successfully inhibited proliferation in the laboratory, but their efficacy and safety in humans needs to be evaluated in large scale clinical trials.

Cruciferous vegetables contain thioglucoside compounds that can interfere with the formation of thyroid hormone.

Tags: DIM, I3C, Indole-3-carbinol, Taxol, angiogenesis, aromataseActivity, betaCarotene, broccoli, cardiovascular, carotenoids, cervicalCancer, chemotherapy, enterolactone, estrone, inflammation, iodine, isothiocyanates, kaempferol, lignan, ovarianCancer, paclitaxel, proliferation, quercetin, selenium, sulforaphane, thyroid

Selected breast cancer studies
+ Show study summaries

Cruciferous vegetables and cancer risk in a network of case-control studies Carotenoid intakes and risk of breast cancer defined by estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor status: a pooled analysis of 18 prospective cohort studies Natural isothiocyanates: Genotoxic potential versus chemoprevention Kaempferol protects against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in vivo and in vitro Serum enterolactone levels and mortality outcome in women with early breast cancer: a retrospective cohort study Comparison of Isothiocyanate Metabolite Levels and Histone Deacetylase Activity in Human Subjects Consuming Broccoli Sprouts or Broccoli Supplement Bioavailability and inter-conversion of sulforaphane and erucin in human subjects consuming broccoli sprouts or broccoli supplement in a cross-over study design Sulforaphane inhibits the growth of KPL-1 human breast cancer cells in vitro and suppresses the growth and metastasis of orthotopically transplanted KPL-1 cells in female athymic mice Glucoraphanin hydrolysis by microbiota in the rat cecum results in sulforaphane absorption Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Relation to Risk of Breast Cancer in the Black Womens Health Study Sulforaphane, a Dietary Component of Broccoli/Broccoli Sprouts, Inhibits Breast Cancer Stem Cells HDAC inhibitors trigger the autophagic switch from prosurvival to prodeath in tamoxifen-treated breast cancer cells Regulation of estrogen receptor α expression in human breast cancer cells by sulforaphane Physiological effects of broccoli consumption Indole-3-carbinol inhibits MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell motility and induces stress fibers and focal adhesion formation by activation of Rho kinase activity Food safety evaluation of broccoli and radish sprouts Preclinical and clinical evaluation of sulforaphane for chemoprevention in the breast Effects of Stir-Fry Cooking with Different Edible Oils on the Phytochemical Composition of Broccoli Effects of the isothiocyanates sulforaphane and erucin on breast cancer and normal human mammary epithelial cells Broccoli and watercress suppress matrix metalloproteinase-9 activity and invasiveness of human MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells 3,3'-Diindolylmethane inhibits angiogenesis and the growth of transplantable human breast carcinoma in athymic mice Dietary flavonols and flavonol-rich foods intake and the risk of breast cancer Breast cancer risk in premenopausal women is inversely associated with consumption of broccoli, a source of isothiocyanates, but is not modified by GST genotype Differences in the hepatic P450-dependent metabolism of estrogen and tamoxifen in response to treatment of rats with 3,3′-diindolylmethane and its parent compound indole-3-carbinol Estrogenic Effects of Extracts from Cabbage, Fermented Cabbage, and Acidified Brussels Sprouts on Growth and Gene Expression of Estrogen-Dependent Human Breast Cancer (MCF-7) Cells Brassica vegetable consumption shifts estrogen metabolism in healthy postmenopausal women