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Title: Laboratory of Molecular Medicine

Description:

The Prevention of Cancer through Diet

It is estimated that one third of cancer cases can be attributed to diet, which demonstrates the importance of healthy eating to help reduce the incidence and progression of cancer.  Numerous fundamental, clinical and epidemiological studies have shown that increased consumption of fruits and vegetables is a key factor in reducing the risk of cancer.  In fact, these foods are a rich source of the phytochemical compounds that play a crucial chemopreventive role.  In addition to fruits and vegetables, recent research work has demonstrated that other foods, which are often lacking in Western diets, such as green tea, soya and the spice turmeric, are also high in anticancer compounds.  Foods of this type are called nutraceuticals.  By making these nutraceuticals a part of our daily diet, our bodies can absorb up to 1-2 g per day of cancer-fighting phytochemical compounds.  Daily intake of these various foods constitutes a simple and effective way to prevent the development and progression of cancer.

Our laboratory is interested in determining the mechanisms by which a variety of nutrient-based compounds exert their antitumor effects.  We have shown that several catechins in green tea inhibit the activity of matrix metalloproteases in vitro.  Whereas these enzymes are implicated in the migration of cancer cells, catechin reduces the spread of cancer cells involved in the formation of metastases.  We have also shown that green tea exerts an inhibitory effect on the formation of tumor vessels due to two catechins that inactivate vascular endothelial growth factor receptors.  Furthermore, we have recently undertaken the characterization of numerous additional compounds in the hope of identifying new molecules with cancer-fighting properties.  For instance, we have shown that compounds derived from garlic acted as powerful modulators of certain proteins responsible for resistance to chemotherapeutic compounds.  Our recent work has also shown that the compounds present in wild berries, such as ellagic acid in strawberries or anthocyanins in blueberries, also exhibit potent antiangiogenic activity in vitro.  Moreover, we have also shown that cells derived from medulloblastomas, the most frequent type of cerebral tumor in children, were particularly sensitive to sulphoraphane, a compound abundantly present in crucifers such as broccoli.

The characterization of the mechanisms implicated in these compounds’ cancer-fighting properties and their use for the treatment of patients therefore constitute a promising line of research for the next few years.  All of our work is aimed at establishing a global profile of anticancer activity in all fruits and vegetables in order to set up a program unique in the world for the prevention and treatment of cancer.

Researchers:
BÉLIVEAU, Richard

Contact us :
Dr Richard Béliveau
514-345-4931 ext. 2366
beliveau.richard@uqam.ca

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