Women Cancer Health Treatment

Researchers say that an extract made from broccoli sprouts may prevent skin cancer when applied directly to the skin, broccoli contains a chemical that stimulates the body’s natural anti-cancer ability. It could prevent the damage from ultraviolet light that often leads to skin cancer. And, as many children would surely appreciate, you do not even have to eat it.

The findings were published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Lead study author Dr. Paul Talalay, in the department of pharmacology and molecular sciences at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, emphasizes that the chemical component from broccoli sprout extract is not a sunscreen. Unlike sunscreen, the extract does not absorb UV light and “does not prevent the radiation from penetrating into the skin,” he says.
The research team exposed areas of skin to intense ultraviolet light one to three days after the broccoli sprout extract was applied to some areas. Spots treated with the extract had, on average, 37 per cent less redness and inflammation — key measures of future skin cancer development.

“Treatment with broccoli sprout extract might be another protective measure that alleviates the skin damage caused by UV radiation and, thereby, decreases our long-term risk of developing cancer,” Talalay says. The researchers found a green smear of broccoli-sprout extract reduced sunburn symptoms by up to 78 per cent, while conventional sunscreens used in the same experiment proved to be ineffective.
Such a finding could be more relevant as the incidence of skin cancer continues to rise, possibly due to increased exposure to ultraviolet light and the decay of the ozone layer.