Maternal Eating During Pregnancies May Protect Offspring from Cancer Years Later

[Guest guest]

Protection against cancer may begin during pregnancy

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- There may be another reason for pregnant and

nursing women to eat a nutritious diet that includes generous

amounts of cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cabbage – it

could help protect their children from cancer, both as infants and

later in life.

A new study by scientists from the Linus ing Institute at Oregon

State University, done with laboratory mice, found that supplements

of a key phytochemical found in certain vegetables provided a very

high level of protection against leukemia and lymphoma in young

animals, and also significantly protected against lung cancer during

the rodent's equivalent of middle age.

The research, published in the journal Carcinogenesis, is one of the

first of its type to demonstrate that diet may play a protective

role in a fight against cancer that may begin – and could be won or

lost – well before a person is ever born. And some of the protective

benefits may last into adulthood.

" Research of this type is still in its infancy, but it's pretty

exciting, " said , an LPI researcher and director of

the Marine and Freshwater Biomedical Sciences Center at OSU.

" There's strong epidemiologic evidence that infant cancers can be

caused by exposure of the fetus to carcinogens, either during

pregnancy or by nursing, " said. " Among all childhood deaths

in the U.S., cancer is second only to accidents as the leading

cause, and the fetus and neonate are sensitive targets for toxic

carcinogens. It would be important if we could affect this through

maternal diet. "

There are particular concerns about common environmental pollutants

called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, which can be

produced by cigarette smoking or the combustion of organic materials

such as wood, coal, cooking oil or diesel fuel. Exposure of a fetus

to PAHs has been shown to cause DNA damage in newborns and is also

associated with increased levels of childhood leukemia. It has also

been shown that a significant portion of the total lifetime exposure

to PAHs and other toxins, including PCBs and dioxins, is transmitted

to the fetus across the placental barrier and during nursing.

In laboratory studies, researchers exposed pregnant mice to a single

high dose of one PAH called dibenzopyrene, a potent carcinogen, and

about 80 percent of their 100 offspring died early in life from an

aggressive T-cell lymphoma. Of those that survived to the mouse-

equivalent of middle age, 100 percent had lung tumors.

By comparison, in a group of pregnant mice given the same carcinogen

but who also received the chemoprotective supplement Indole-3-

carbinol, or I3C, deaths from lymphoma were cut in half, and the

number of lung tumors later in life was significantly reduced.

" It's clear that in mice this supplement provided significant

protection against lymphoma and, later on, lung cancer, "

said. " It's also worth noting that none of the infant mice received

the protective supplement later in their life, at any stage beyond

breast feeding. The protective effect of the compound came solely

from maternal intake during pregnancy and nursing, but lasted into

the animal's middle age. This is somewhat remarkable. "

Although lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both

men and women, it's also true that only about one smoker in 10 gets

lung cancer. It's possible, researchers say, that dietary and other

factors in addition to smoking may predispose some smokers to get

cancer while others don't. That this process may begin with

carcinogens crossing the placental boundary – and might be affected

by diet – is an area that has not been adequately studied,

said. In this study, both the exposure to carcinogens and the levels

of Indole-3-carbinol given to pregnant mice through supplements were

higher than those that would ordinarily be found in the environment

or a normal diet, researchers said.

The scientists do not recommend that pregnant women take supplements

of this compound, which is available in health food stores, because

there have been questions about its possible role in causing birth

defects when ingested at high levels in the first trimester of

pregnancy. That topic needs further study, they said.

However, the amounts of this and other valuable phytochemicals that

could be obtained in any normal diet rich in cruciferous vegetables

should be safe and useful, they said. These vegetables include

broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, radishes, turnips and other

types of greens and cabbages.

Indole-3-carbinol is also being studied by scientists in other U.S.

research programs for chemoprotection of women against breast

cancer.

Cancer chemoprotection is one of the main research areas at the

Linus ing Institute, a world leader in the study of vitamins,

phytochemicals and other nutrients that may help prevent disease or

provide optimum health.

###