Foods That May Help Prevent Cancer
Scientists have recently discovered that phytic acid—a compound found in beans, nuts, and grains—can hinder tumor blood supply and inhibit tumor growth.
Blocking the formation of new blood vessels at tumor sites is a key direction in cancer research. This process relies on a specific cellular pathway, but finding non-toxic compounds that inhibit this pathway has been difficult. Scientists eventually focused on phytic acid, naturally present in beans, nuts, and grain crops.
Researchers led by Marco Falasca at University College London conducted experiments. First, they injected mice with a growth factor that promotes new blood vessel formation and observed vascular development. Then, they administered synthetic phytic acid to the mice and found significant suppression of new vessel formation—new vessel count reduced by half compared to untreated mice.
In another experiment, human ovarian cancer cells were implanted into mice. After 12 days, the mice received either phytic acid or cisplatin (a common ovarian cancer drug). Results showed phytic acid achieved the same level of cancer cell reduction as cisplatin. This study was published in the latest issue of the American journal *Cancer Research*.
Dr. Judah Folkman, a cell biologist at Harvard Medical School, stated that phytic acid is an excellent inhibitor of angiogenesis and could potentially gain approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Combining phytic acid with other inhibitors may yield better anti-cancer results while reducing drug side effects and resistance.