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Groente, fruit en vitamine D bij en tegen borstkanker*
Uit drie studies blijkt dat voldoende groente en fruit en vitamine D goed zijn tegen en bij borstkanker. Uit de ene studie blijkt dat het eten van bonen, alle soorten zoals rode, bruine en witte de kans op borstkanker danig doen verminderen. 67% van speciale laboratoriumratten met bonen in de voeding kregen daadwerkelijk borstkanker terwijl 95% van de dieren met normale voeding borstkanker kregen. Verder was het aantal tumoren ook lager en wel 1,4 tegen 3,2. Uit de tweede studie blijkt dat vitamine D inderdaad de groei van borstkankercellen kan tegenhouden. De derde studie onder 3.000 vrouwen met borstkanker van gemiddeld 53 jaar blijkt dat het eten van meer groenten en fruit (totaal 10 i.p.v. 5 porties per dag) de kans op terugkeer van de kanker met 1/3 doet verminderen en bij vrouwen na de overgang zelfs met bijna de helft. 
Chemical Composition and Mammary Cancer Inhibitory Activity of Dry Bean
Matthew D. Thompsona, Mark A. Brickb,*, John N. McGinleya and Henry J. Thompsona 
a Cancer Prevention Lab., Dep. of Horticulture
b Dep. of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1173 
* Corresponding author (mark.brick@colostate.edu).
The global economic burden caused by chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer is enormous. Little information exists about the role that specific crops in the diet play to reduce these diseases. To address this question, the phenolic and flavonoid contents, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), and anticancer activity of six market classes of dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) were evaluated. Cooked dry bean powder from two crop years were fed to laboratory rats to determine if bean had an effect on chemically induced mammary carcinogenesis compared to the standard diet in a preclinical model for breast cancer. Dry beans in the diet reduced cancer incidence (no. of animals with cancerous tumor) from 95% in the control to 67% in animals fed bean, and mean multiplicity (no. of cancer tumors per animal) from 3.23 to 1.46, respectively (both P 0.001). Dry bean market classes differed for cancer multiplicity (white kidney vs. navy, 1.05 vs. 1.87 tumors per animal, P = 0.004), but anticancer activity was not associated with ORAC, phenolic or flavonoid content, seed coat color, or nutrient content. Dry bean market classes from the Andean center of domestication (COD) reduced cancer multiplicity more than those from the Middle American COD (P = 0.02), and dry beans from race Nueva Granada were more protective than those from race Mesoamerican (P = 0.01).

Vitamin D Found to Stimulate a Protein that Inhibits the Growth of Breast Cancer Cells
NEWARK – Calcitrol, the active form of vitamin D, has been found to induce a tumor suppressing protein that can inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells, according to a study by researcher Sylvia Chistakos, Ph.D., of the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School.
Chistakos, a professor of biochemistry, has published extensively on the multiple roles of vitamin D, including inhibition of the growth of malignant cells found in breast cancer. Her current findings on the vitamin D induced protein that inhibits breast cancer growth are published in a recent issue of The Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Previous research had determined that increased serum levels of vitamin D are associated with an improved diagnosis in patients with breast cancer. Prior to the current study, little was known about the factors that determine the effect of calcitrol on inhibiting breast cancer growth, she said.
During the study, Christakos and co-author Puneet Dhawan, Ph.D., examined the protein involved in the action that can reduce the growth of vitamin D in breast cancer cells. “These results provide an important process in which the active form of vitamin D may work to reduce growth of breast cancer cells,” said Christakos. “These studies provide a basis for the design of new anticancer agents that can target the protein as a candidate for breast cancer treatment.”
To arrange an interview with Dr. Christakos, please contact Terri Guess, UMDNJ News Service, at 973-972-3000.
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) is the nation’s largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,600 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and its only school of public health on five campuses. Annually, there are more than two million patient visits at UMDNJ facilities and faculty practices at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a statewide mental health and addiction services network.

High Intake of Fruits and Vegetables may Lower Risk of Breast Cancer Relapse
The protective effects which one's diet, in particular fruits and vegetables, offers against cancer may, intuitively, seem to apply more to cancers which are related to the gastrointestinal tract, such as colon cancer, stomach cancer or intestinal cancer. On the other hand, for certain cancers, like those of the ovaries, prostate and breasts, one may be more inclined to believe that hormones play a bigger part. The truth, however, is that diet does play a significant role even in breast cancer. And a recent study has revealed that the consumption of good amounts of fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence by almost a third. This protective effect, however, only seemed to apply to certain women but not others.
Details of Study
The study team had looked at data pertaining to 3,000 breast cancer sufferers in a bid to analyze if low fat intake and consumption of high amounts of fruits and vegetables could play a part in preventing the return of the disease. Such a diet had previously already been linked to reduced breast cancer risk.
Half the women were told to consume 10 servings of fruits and vegetables every day, double the daily dose of 5 servings recommended by United States government agencies, as well as to boost fiber consumption and lower fat intake. This group was then compared with a group who were asked to stick to government guidelines. The average age of the study subjects was 53, and the study was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Findings of Study
About 900 of the entire group of women reported not experiencing hot flashes, which is a common side-effect of conventional breast cancer therapy. Analyzing the data on these subjects, the study team found that only 16% of those who doubled their fruit and vegetable intake suffered a relapse after 7 years, as compared to 23% of those in the control group. With specific regard to post-menopausal women, the reduction in risk was about 47%.
Hot Flashes, Estrogen and Breast Cancer
What is the significance here of hot flashes? After undergoing conventional breast cancer treatment, women who experienced hot flashes had been found to have lower levels of estrogen as compared to those who did not. And the reduced risk of breast cancer recurrence revealed by the study only applied to women who did not get hot flashes after their bout of conventional cancer therapy.
Now, estrogen is known to be an important factor in the most common kind of breast cancer. Put together, all this information implies that consuming additional servings of fruits and vegetables, much more than the government's suggested dose, could help in lowering the levels of estrogen in breast cancer survivors, thereby putting a lid on the possibility of relapse.
This distinguishing factor could help explain why, among previously conducted studies, some showed that increased fruit and vegetable intake could lower the risk of breast cancer relapse, while others did not come to the same conclusion.
"It appears that a dietary pattern high in fruits, vegetables and fiber, which has been shown to reduce circulating estrogen levels, may only be important among women with circulating estrogen levels above a certain threshold," said John Pierce from the University of California San Diego. (Maart 2009)