Intake of Cruciferous Vegetables Modifies Bladder Cancer Survival

Abstract

Background: Intake of cruciferous vegetables, a rich source of dietary isothiocyanates, has been inversely associated with risk of bladder cancer. Due to the potent antiproliferative effects of dietary isothiocyanates on bladder cancer in in vitro and in vivo models, cruciferous vegetable intake may also play a role in survival among patients with bladder cancer.Methods: Using information obtained from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute Tumor Registry, patient medical records, and routinely collected questionnaire data, we examined potential associations between intake of cruciferous vegetables and survival among bladder cancer patients. As cooking can substantially reduce or destroy isothiocyanates, consumption of raw versus cooked cruciferous vegetables was examined separately. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using Cox proportional hazard models.Results: A total of 239 bladder cancer patients were included in the study. After an average of 8 years of follow-up, 179 deaths occurred, with 101 deaths attributable to bladder cancer. After adjustment for other prognostic factors, a strong and significant inverse association was observed between bladder cancer mortality and broccoli intake, in particular raw broccoli intake (≥1 versus <1 serving per month; HR for overall death, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.39-0.83; HR for disease-specific death, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.25-0.74). There were no significant associations for total vegetables, total fruits, or other individual cruciferous vegetables.Conclusions: Considering the strong preclinical evidence, intake of broccoli may improve bladder cancer survival. Impact: Further prospective investigation is warranted to confirm the potential role of cruciferous vegetables in bladder cancer prognosis. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 19(7); 1806-11. ©2010 AACR.

Effects of Complementary and Integrative Medicine on Cancer Survivorship

“…In the organizations' combined documentFood, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective Expert Report-, the main recommendations call for consuming a greater variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes; aiming for meals that consist of two thirds (or more) vegetables, fruits, whole grains, or beans and one third (or less) animal protein; avoiding sugary drinks; and limiting consumption of energy-dense foods (particularly processed foods high in added sugar, low in fiber, or high in fat [58]). Additional studies that came after this report support these same conclusions [60,61].…”

“…The AICR adds that certain foods may be beneficial in cancer care in preventing recurrence including: beans, berries, cruciferous vegetables, flaxseed, garlic, green tea, tomatoes, and others [59,61,[64][65][66]. The AICR emphasizes that no single food or food component by itself can protect against cancer, but the combination of foods in a predominantly plantbased diet may offer protection.…”

Sulforaphane inhibits 4-aminobiphenyl-induced DNA damage in bladder cells and tissues

“…We have shown that SF is highly effective in blocking ABP-induced DNA damage in human bladder cells in vitro and in mouse bladder tissue in vivo. These findings not only provide further evidence of the chemopreventive activity of SF against bladder cancer but also offer a mechanistic insight into the epidemiological reports that consumption of broccoli is inversely associated with bladder cancer risk and bladder cancer mortality in humans (13,14,38), since SF is considered the key chemopreventive ingredient in broccoli. Although the SF doses used in the animal study (10-40 lmol/kg body weight) are probably .10 times higher than the amount that is typically consumed by a human ($1000 lmol SF per kg fresh broccoli) (39), the animals were exposed to far greater level of ABP (50 mg/kg) than humans normally are because ABP is present at low nanogram levels in the smoke of each cigarette.…”

The potential role of nutritional genomics tools in validating high health foods for cancer control: Broccoli as example

“…Tang et al [112] found that high intake of brassicaceous vegetables modifies bladder cancer survival. They analysed questionnaire data from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute Tumour Registry alongside patient medical records, to examine potential associations between the intake of brassicaceous vegetables (raw versus cooked) and the survival among bladder cancer patients.…”