!44: New Study Finds Vegetables Can Prevent Bladder Cancer

!±8± New Study Finds Vegetables Can Prevent Bladder Cancer

At buffets, not everyone rushes to grab Brussels spouts, cauliflower and turnips. That could change since researchers at the Maryland Anderson Cancer Center report that cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale, collards, radish and watercress may offer protection against bladder cancer.

Investigators theorize that a compound called isothiocyanates (ITC) in these crunchy veggies activate detoxifying enzymes that prevent cancer formation.

In a study featured in the International Journal of Cancer, researchers compared 697 newly diagnosed bladder cancer patients to 708 controls matched by age, sex and race. After comparing the dietary intake of the groups, examiners found that the healthy volunteers consumed substantially more vegetables than the bladder cancer patients.

However, this anti-cancer effect do not extend so readily to the women in the study. Evidence of this sexist cancer protection appears in other investigations.

For example, in 2005, researchers reviewed the lifestyles of 237 bladder cancer patients who helped make up the 88,796 women enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study. After evaluating the patients' diets, examiners find no link between consumption of fruits and vegetables and bladder cancer risk. Incidentally, taking multivitamins or vitamins A, C or E did not influence bladder cancer risk among the women.

Notwithstanding, three years earlier a study presented in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that vitamin E reduced bladder cancer risk.

In this study, scientists examined the association between use of individual vitamin C and vitamin E supplements, and bladder cancer mortality among 991,522 adults. Researchers monitored the study participants via questionnaires from 1992 to 1998.

During the follow-up, 1,289 bladder cancer deaths occurred (962 in men and 327 in women). Upon comparing the lifestyles of the cancer group to age, sex and diet matched cancer-free controls, the examiners found no link between vitamin C intake can bladder cancer.

Yet, regular vitamin E supplement use for at least 10 years was associated with a reduced risk of bladder cancer death. Based on these results, the investigators concluded that long-term vitamin E supplement use may reduce the risk of bladder cancer.

Overall, consuming fruits and vegetables does seem to reduce the risk for bladder cancer as a study involving 130 bladder patients in Serbia found. While the results are mixed, bladder cancer studies increasingly suggest that adding a little crunch to your meals with antioxidant rich vegetables will chop away at chances of developing bladder cancer.

Sources:

Holick, Crystal et al. Intake of Fruits and Vegetables, Carotenoids, Folate, and Vitamins A, C, E and Risk of Bladder Cancer Among Women (United States). Cancer Causes and Control; December 2005, vol 16, no 10, pp 1135-1145.

Jacobs, EJ et al. Vitamin C and Vitamin E Supplement Use and Bladder Cancer Mortality in a Large Cohort of US Men and Women. American Journal of Epidemiology; December 2002, vol 156, no 11, pp 1002-1010.

Radosavljevi, V; S Jankovi, J Marinkovi & M Doki. Diet and Bladder Cancer: A Case-Control Study. International Urology and Nephrology; June 2005, vol 37, no 2, pp 283-289.

Sanchez-Ortiz, Ricardo. Compound Found In Cruciferous Vegetables Associated with a Decreased Risk of Bladder Cancer. UroToday; May 17, 2007.