Syrian hamsters are often used in research and in this case are used for
research into pancreatic cancer. In this study Japanese researchers injected
male Syrian hamsters with a chemical that causes pancreatic cancer four times a
week. Some of the hamsters were first given Sulforaphane, Benzyl Isothiocyanate
or a very small dose of Resveratrol before and after exposure to the chemical,
others were given the phytonutrients after the exposure and of course some were
not given the protective nutrients. It was found that giving either
isothiocyanate; Sulforaphane or Benzyl Isothiocyanate before and after exposure
greatly reduced the risk of developing pancreatic cancer (pancreatic
adenocarcinoma) or even abnormal cell growth (atypical hyperplasia). The study
is published in the December 28th, 2005 issue of the journal Cancer Letters.
Resveratrol may protect from smoking associated oral cancer
Oral cancer kills 50% of its victims within 5 years. Oral along with pharyngeal
cancer will kill one American every hour, 24 hours a day this year and its death
rate is higher than the death rate from melanoma, Hodgkin's disease, or cancers
of the liver, cervix, testes, or brain. One of the reasons for this high rate of
fatality is that oral cancer is often diagnosed after it is in an advanced stage
already having metastasized to a different site, most likely the lymph glands of
the neck.
Smoking causes precancerous sores in the mouth known as leukoplakia that can
transform into oral cancer. 75% of those diagnosed with oral cancer are smokers
and it is the number one risk factor for developing oral cancer. If you combine
smoking with heavy alcohol use the risk of developing oral cancer jumps to a 15
times greater risk than nonsmokers.
In this study researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina applied
the chemical benzo[a]pyrene, a cause of cigarette smoke related cancer to human
gum tissue in a laboratory experiment. If either Resveratrol or Quercetin were
also applied to the gum tissue, they prevented the cancer causing chemical from
attaching to DNA. Preventing the attachment to DNA prevents mutation thus
decreasing the risk of oral cancer. The study is published in the December 28th,
2005 issue of the journal Drug Metabolism and Disposition: the Biological Fate
of Chemicals.
