Eating blueberries may inhibit Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) growth, according to a study by researchers at the Department of Cancer Biology, City of Hope in Los Angeles and published in the October 2011 issue of the Journal of Nutrition. A double study found that the oral intake of whole blueberry powder could reduce the growth and metastasis of a very aggressive form of breast cancer (triple-negative breast cancer), for which there are few effective drugs.
Blueberries are a very potent superfood because they contain flavonoids and proanthocyanins.
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Shiuan Chen PhD, the Professor of the Department of Cancer Biology, had previously shown that blueberry juice could inhibit cancer survival and spread. Here Chen took three equal groups of mice and gave them either no blueberry powder or two different levels. In the group taking the most, tumour size reduced by 60-75 per cent. The effects were seen to be dose-dependent - the more the mice received the stronger the effect. In addition, molecular analysis revealed that blueberry consumption altered the expression of genes that are important to metastasis. The dose required of blueberries to achieve these results was equivalent to two cups of fresh blueberries per day.
A second study then looked at metastases in the three groups of mice and found that metastases was greatly reduced in the group of mice having the most blueberry powder.
The City of Hope Medical School has a very active research group looking into how ’Superfoods’ interact with cancer. For example, they have shown how button mushrooms can block aromatase enzymes in ER+ breast cancer, and how shiitake mushrooms could fight lung cancer. Go to Department of Cancer Biology, City of Hope Website to read more about their superfood research.