Soybean Derivative May Offer Protection Against Mouth Cancer

Soybean Derivative May Offer ProtectionAgainst Mouth Cancer

ORANGE, Calif.--In the December issue of Clinical CancerResearch (6:4684-91, 2000), researchers found that a constituent garneredfrom soybeans may help people with leukoplakia, or oral cancer. In a one-monthstudy, researchers led by William Armstrong from the University of California,Irvine, administered a protease inhibitor (Bowman-Birk) derived from soybeans on32 subjects. Toxicity, lesion activity, cell protease activity and serummicronutrient levels were measured throughout the month. The soybean applicationwas nontoxic in doses up to 1,066 chymotrypsin inhibitory units, and lesionareas decreased significantly. The researchers concluded that these resultsshould be investigated for chemopreventive activity in a randomized clinicaltrial. For additional information, visit http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org.