Cabbages and lung cancer

Cabbages and lung cancer

Eating up your cabbage and broccoli might actually help you in fighting lung cancer, says a research letter, which appears in this week's issue of The Lancet.

Cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli and sprouts are rich in a chemical called isothiocyanates. Previous studies have shown that these compounds exert substantial chemopreventive effect against lung cancer. But the genetic make-up of a person influences if these properties are beneficial to him/her or not.

The current study followed 2100 adults with lung cancer and an equal number without the cancer. The researchers found that cabbages and other cruciferous vegetables exerted protective effects in individuals who presented inactive forms of two genes, GSTM1 and GSTT1. The genetic make-up of the individuals was found by taking a blood sample, while the eating habits were discerned by a questionnaire.

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Dr. Paul Brennan from the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, and colleagues say that individuals who had an inactive form of the GSTM1 gene had a 33 percent reduced chance of developing lung cancer. The inactive form of GSTT1 conferred a 37 percent protection from the cancer. Individuals who had both forms of genes were 72 percent safe from developing lung cancer.

However, there was no protective effect that could be attributed to the cruciferous vegetables in individuals who did not have these genes. "These data provide strong evidence for a substantial protective effect of cruciferous vegetable consumption on lung cancer," concludes Dr. Brennan.