The compound, indole-3-carbinol (I3C) has been considered for many years to be a potential anticancer agent. In the current study, investigators at Ohio State University (Columbus, USA) focused their attention on breast cancer and specifically on the gene for Cdc25A (cell division cycle) phosphatase, which regulates cell cycle progression, has oncogenic and antiapoptotic activity, and is overexpressed in many human tumors.

Results published in the June 29, 2010, online edition of the journal Cancer Prevention Research revealed that treating cultures of breast cancer cells with I3C caused the destruction of Cdc25A and slowed the growth of the cells. In a mouse xenograft model, oral treatment with I3C reduced breast tumor size by up to 65%.

At the molecular level, it was determined that the interaction between I3C and Cdc25A took place at the serine-124 (Ser124) site on the Cdc25A molecule. Growth of breast cancer cells containing a Cdc25A mutant with alanine instead of serine at the amino acid 124 site was not inhibited by I3C.

"Cdc25A is present at abnormally high levels in about half of breast cancer cases, and it is associated with a poor prognosis,” said senior author Dr. Xianghong Zou, assistant professor of pathology at the Ohio State University. "The molecule also occurs at abnormally high levels in cancers of the breast, prostate, liver, esophagus, endometrium and colon, and in non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and in other diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.”

"A number of anti-Cdc25 agents have been identified, but they have not been successful for cancer prevention or treatment due to concerns about their safety or efficacy," said Dr. Zou. "I3C can have striking effects on cancer cells, and a better understanding of this mechanism may lead to the use of this dietary supplement as an effective and safe strategy for treating a variety of cancers and other human diseases associated with the overexpression of Cdc25A.”

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