Posted on Friday, Mar. 7, 2008 — 8:55 AM

When your mother told you to eat your vegetables it appears that maternal wisdom had a scientific basis. Researchers with Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and the Shanghai Cancer Institute in China have discovered a possible link between a diet rich in certain vegetables and a decreased risk for breast cancer. The study appears in the March issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Corresponding author Jay Fowke, Ph.D., assistant professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt-Ingram, said 3,035 women diagnosed with breast cancer were identified through the Shanghai Cancer Registry. they were closely matched with 3,037 women randomly chosen from the general population there. The women filled out questionnaires about their diet, including consumption of cruciferous vegetables like Chinese cabbage, bok choi and turnips. Americans typically eat more broccoli, kale and cauliflower in the cruciferous vegetable family.

“Cruciferous vegetables contain some compounds that may have a cancer-inhibitory effect,” explained Fowke. “here we were able to identify a group of women who seem to particularly benefit from a high intake of these vegetables.”

While there was only a small positive relationship between a diet high in these vegetables and a reduction in breast cancer risk for the overall study population, there was a striking risk reduction – 50 percent – among women with a certain genetic profile. Researchers identified three forms of the GSTP1 genotype among the cancer patients: Ille/Ile, Ile/Val and Val/Val.

“Women who consumed more of these cruciferous vegetables and who also had the Val/Val genetic polymorphism had a lower breast cancer risk. So we cautiously interpreted this as diet being a factor that may reduce the impact of genetic susceptibility in overall breast cancer risk,” said Fowke.

The Vanderbilt-Ingram researchers focused on cruciferous vegetables because they contain two chemicals called isothiocyanates and indole-3-carbinol which may affect carcinogenesis by triggering cell death or by shifting estrogen metabolism. Studies by other researchers have suggested cruciferous vegetables may reduce the risk of lung, stomach, colorectal and bladder cancers.

“we have known for some time that certain foods, like soy foods, appear to interfere with the development of breast cancer because they contain plant estrogens,” said Fowke. “The protective effect from cruciferous vegetables in this study was certainly suggestive of a risk reduction, but researchers need to replicate this finding in other studies.”

Scientists were able to isolate the specific genetic profile linked with a positive dietary impact because the women in the study submitted DNA through blood and cheek cell samples. Wei Zheng, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt-Ingram is the principal investigator for the Shanghai Breast Cancer study.

“The Shanghai Breast Cancer Study is one of the largest and most comprehensive epidemiological studies conducted to date for this common cancer,” according to Zheng. “we have published over 100 research papers in this study addressing a large range of significant issues related to the etiology and survival of breast cancer. The results reported by Dr. Fowke may have significant implications in breast cancer prevention.”

While women in this study answered questionnaires about their diets, researchers want to measure more precisely the intake of cruciferous vegetables. To aid in future studies they are collecting urine samples which contain biomarkers for the beneficial chemicals.

Authors for this paper include: Sang-Ah Lee, Wei Lu, Chuangzhong Ye, Ying Zheng, Qiuyin Cai, Kai Gu, Yu-Tang Gao, Xiao-ou Shu and Wei Zheng.

What happens when u get it?

Symptoms of HPV normally appears in the form of a cauliflower-like growths called genital warts, that occur on and around the vagina, penis and anus . These may be also flat.

There are two types of strains of HPV. One is called low-risk and this tends to show up as genital warts on the external or interal genitalia. Warts can be removed through different methods, including burning or freezing them off. this needs to be done by a doctor though, and not with over-the-counter medication.

The other type is called high-risk. this rarely manifests itself in men–they just tend to be carriers. High risk HPV is what can cause abnormal cervical changes in women. Left untreated, this may develop into cervical cancer. It is really important for all women who are sexually-active to get Pap smears every year, because cervical cancer is very easy to treat when caught early.

It is important to note that the majority of people who have HPV never have symptoms that manifest themselves as genital warts or cervical cancer. but they can be silent carriers, as the virus can be passed on to others even if no symptoms are present. just because a woman has HPV does not mean she will definitely get cancer! Most women fight the virus off on their own.

Also, HPV is an extremely common virus. It is estimated that by the age of 50, 75-80% of sexually active women will have had some form of the other of HPV. It's just that many never realize they have it.

My OBGYN said that 3 out of 4 people have HPV and most have no symptoms at all. The only symptom of having it is if your doc has found some genital warts or cervical cancer. (or cancer cells)

Genital warts usually appear as soft, moist, pink, or flesh-colored swellings, usually in the genital area. They can be raised or flat, single or multiple, small or large, and sometimes cauliflower shaped. They can appear on the vulva, in or around the vagina or anus, on the cervix, and on the penis, scrotum, groin, or thigh. After sexual contact with an infected person, warts may appear within weeks or months, or not at all.

anywhere from days to years. there are over 100 strains of the HPV virus….only 4 of which cause warts. there is ton's of info on the web about HPV, check it out for details. i reccomend the center for disease control web site. oh and dont feel alone b/c 1 in 2 people have some type of HPV and 80% of women have it by the age 50! pretty crazy huh? you think they'd inform us all of that during sex ed in high school rather than how tampons work! haha

sometimes years… sometimes asap. when i found out i had hpv it was a year and half later after being with my husband… but during the time i was getting signs like (yeast infections, bacterical infections) and no on could figure out why…untill i got tested a few months ago. Although… some people who have hpv… will never show… others will get break outs once in there life. thats all i pretty much know….. I have a low grade of it.

EVEN IF THE PERSON DOESN'T HAVE ANY SYMPTOMS U COULD STILL BE a RISK… WHAT U NEED TO DO IS GO GET TESTED… IF U START TO FEEL BUMPS HAVE THEM CHECKED OUT.. THE SOONER U GO GET CHECKED THE SOONER THE DOCTOR COULD TAKE CARE OF THEM AND THEY WON'T SPREAD…. THEY DOCTOR WITH EITHER DO SURGERY TO REMOVE THEM OR GIVE U MEDS… GO TO THIS WEB SITE AND READ UP ON IT…webmd.com/sexual-conditions/h…

I have low risk HPV and recently have gotten an outbreak. it can show asap or a few years. Some men don't know they are carriers because the symtoms don't occur as fast as women and also he can't be tested UNLESS he has an outbreak (dumb huh?). anyway, just be careful and If u have HPV don't sleep with anyone else unprotected. PLEASE.