Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent types of cancer observed in women, and the risk is driven by the levels and duration of exposure to estrogen over a life course [1, 2]. Sulforaphane modulates estradiol metabolism in human mammary epithelial cells, including dampening the formation of promutagenic DNA adducts from 4-hydroxyestradiol [3]. A higher urinary 2-hydroxyestrone:16-hydroxyestrone ratio was observed in healthy, postmenopausal women with the consumption of Brassica vegetables for 4 weeks, which is a favorable trend that mitigates estrogen-mediated mammary carcinogenesis [4]. Women who consumed higher amounts of Brassica vegetables (median = 1.5 servings per day) had a significantly lower risk of developing breast cancer compared to women who consumed virtually no Brassica vegetables [5].