Beating cancer with soy and clover
Whether or not compounds found in soy and clover could reduce the risk of
endometrial cancer is the subject of a clinical trial recently launched by
the
Center for Women's Health at
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Cell division in the lining of the uterus - the endometrium - is triggered by
the female hormone oestrogen during the menstrual cycle and checked by
progesterone following menstruation. If the hormone system gets out of
control unchecked cell division can eventually lead to cancer.
However, Asian women have a much lower risk of endometrial cancer - one
in 100,000 as opposed to 20 in 100,000 for those in the West, hinting that
plant compounds - phytoestrogens - in the food they eat may help check
the cell division process even if the natural hormones don't. Plants such as
soy and clover may be the prime contenders for the role because they
contain phytoestrogens known as isoflavones, which have estrogenic
properties.
The trial led by Georgina Hale will
study whether or not these phytoestrogens counteract the activity of natural
oestrogen in triggering cell proliferation. If they do then it implies that
turning to a diet rich in phytoestrogens could reduce the risk of endometrial
cancer.
