New Study Reveals Soy ProteinMay Prevent Skin Cancer

New Study Reveals Soy ProteinMay Prevent Skin Cancer

BERKELEY, Calif.---The University of California, Berkeley, conducted a 19-week study on mice to determine if their compound lunasin (a 43 amino-acid soybean peptide) has the potential to prevent skin cancer. In an article published Oct. 15, 2001, in Cancer Research (61(20):7473-8), researchers reported a group of mice given the soy protein, lunasin, showed significantly lower rates of skin cancer than the control group. The mice were given varying doses of lunasin, and the ones with the higher doses (125 mcg twice a week) had a 70-percent reduction in developing malignant tumors. While some mice in the high-dose group did form tumors, the incidence was less and tumors that did form were delayed two weeks in formation. Researchers were first alerted to the potential positive effects of lunasin through tests in cell cultures. Lunasin has the ability to detect when a cell is transforming to a possible malignant form and attack it.