{"81461":{"#nid":"81461","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Soybeans May Reduce Risk of Colon Cancer","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA substance found in soybeans may reduce the risk of colon cancer, the third most common form of cancer in the world according to the World Health Organization. Georgia Tech researcher Al Merrill, along with colleagues from Emory University and the Karmanos Cancer Institute, found that soy glucosylceramide (soy GlcCer) was effective in reducing the formation and growth of tumor cells in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract in mice. The results are published in the May issue of the Journal of Nutrition. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Soy is known to have a number of health benefits, including the suppression of cancer. Based on our results, some of this benefit may be due to a group of molecules known as sphingolipids,\u0022 said Merrill.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESoy GlcCer is just one of the many types of sphingolipids found in plants and animals. Merrill and colleagues have already shown that milk sphingolipids can suppress tumor formation. But this is the first study, he said, that has established that the sphingolipids of plants - which are structurally different - can also inhibit colon cancer. Other foods rich in sphingolipids are eggs, cheese and wheat flour.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe study is the latest in a series of findings showing the medical benefits of the soybean. Earlier this year, researchers from Cincinnati Children\u0027s Hospital, Colorado State University and Brigham Young University found that eating soy can help reduce the risk of prostate cancer.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn Merrill\u0027s latest study, he found soy GlcCer was able to reduce the number of tumors in both mice with an inherited defect that leads to GI cancer and in mice exposed to a chemical that causes colon cancer.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne feature that makes Merrill\u0027s results especially promising is that it didn\u0027t take massive doses of soy GlcCer to show an anti-cancer effect. The amounts used in the study were similar to those naturally found in soybeans. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnother result was that unlike many substances that are digested, soy GlcCer survives the journey through the stomach and intestine with enough power to affect cancerous cells in the colon. Ensuring that cancer-fighting substances reach the cells is always a hurdle in any kind of cancer research.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECancer is most often found in cells that experience rapid division, such as gastrointestinal, skin, lung and breast cells, explained Merrill. As the cells divide, mutations can occur that alter the function and chemistry of the cells. Each mutation a cell experiences leaves it more vulnerable to others. Cancer results when cells have accumulated a series of genetic mutations accompanied by unregulated growth. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt is not known exactly how sphingolipids suppress cancer; there are probably many mechanisms involved, said Merrill. But targeting beta-catenin, a protein involved in cell growth, seems to be one method. Too much of this protein, and the cells grow unchecked. Soy GlcCer reduces the amount of beta-catenin in the cells, helping the body regain control. \u0022In essence, sphingolipids are bypassing the genetic defect,\u0022 said Merrill.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWith funding from the National Cancer Institute, Merrill and colleagues are developing new compounds based on sphingolipids that might be useful as anti-cancer drugs.  \u0022We are looking for even more potent forms of these molecules that might be effective for cancer treatment,\u0022 he said. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHe hopes to begin studies to see if sphingolipids have similar effects on humans as they have for mice.  \u0022If naturally occurring sphingolipids like soy GlcCer suppress cancer in humans, this has the potential to allow the public to select their diets in a more rational way,\u0022 he said. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut because sphingolipids haven\u0027t been classified as a nutrient, they don\u0027t appear in food composition tables, so epidemiologists cannot evaluate their importance to public health.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Foods contain many substances that are beneficial to health that haven\u0027t yet been categorized as nutrients. The new challenge for the field of diet and health is to find out the entire spectrum of molecules that are important to health,\u0022 said Merrill.\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"A substance found in soybeans may reduce the risk of colon cancer, according to a new study by Al Merrill.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27304","created_gmt":"2004-05-11 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:01:58","author":"Matthew Nagel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2004-05-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2004-05-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"81471":{"id":"81471","type":"image","title":"soybean","body":null,"created":"1449178079","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:27:59","changed":"1475894696","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:56"}},"media_ids":["81471"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}