Soyabean chemical may prevent prostate cancer, claim US scientists

A compound found in soyabeans almost entirely prevented the spread of human prostate cancer in mice, according to a study published in the American journal Cancer Research.

Researchers from Northwestern University in Chicago found that the chemical genistein decreased metastasis of prostate cancer to the lungs by 96% compared with mice that did not eat the compound. The amount given to the rodents was no higher than the equivalent of a human on a soybean-rich diet.

"We have all the preclinical studies we need to suggest genistein might be a very promising chemopreventive drug," said the study's senior investigator, Dr Raymond C Bergan.