Researchers found a chemical in broccoli that can help reduce the risk of having prostate cancer.
According to the researchers who are writing for the BioMed Central’s open access journal Molecular Cancer, a chemical named sulforaphane can reduce the risk of having prostate cancer. This chemical is found in Broccoli which interacts with the cell called PTEN to prevent the development of prostate cancer.

Richard Mithen, from the Institute of Food and Research, worked with the team of researchers on Norwich Research Park in U.K. to conduct a series of experiments on human prostate tissues and mouse models of prostate cancer. They will investigate the relationship of the PTEN gene to the chemical produced by Broccoli which is called sulforaphane. They believe that sulforaphane is an anti-cancer chemical that can be of big help for the scientist in finding a cure for prostate cancer.

According to Richard Mithen, the PTEN gene is a tumor suppressor gene. He said that the deletion of this gene can result in prostate carcinogenesis initiation and enhance probability of prostate cancer development. They found out that sulforaphane has different effects depending on the presence of the PTEN gene.

According to their research, dietary intervention with SF does not have any effect on the progression of prostate cancer for cells that express PTEN. On the other hand, for cells that do not express PTEN, sulforaphane causes them to become less active and competitive. This research explains how broccoli can reduce the risk of prostate cancer and how to prevent its progression.
According to scientists, this study is one step closer in developing new therapeutic application using the chemical sulforaphane and other related compounds.

According to Mithen, more research is needed to prove that this chemical can really affect the progression of the said cancer. Supporting studies are needed.