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Scientists study vegetables in cancer fightFriday June 24, 2005 You can be sure that Mark Hampton’s three young children are encouraged to eat their greens. Dr Hampton, from Otago University’s Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences, is researching how compounds found in a range of green vegetables help prevent cancer. Dr Hampton won the Health and Medical category of the Macdiarmid Young Scientists of the Year Awards, and was presented with the $2000 cash prize in Auckland this week. There is scientific evidence that people with diets high in certain vegetables have a lower incidence of cancer but Dr Hampton wants to know how the vegetable compounds, called isothiacyanates, work in the body to help fight cancer. The research is providing a pathway of discovery that could lead to new drug design. Dr Hampton is this year’s winner of the Health and Medical Sciences category of the MacDiarmid Young Scientists of the Year Awards. This is a new category which has been introduced to the awards this year due to support received from the Health Research Council of New Zealand. Vegetables providing high concentrations of cancer-fighting properties include bok choy, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, garden cress, water cress, horse radish, wasabi, rocket, radish, nasturtium and mustard. His strong advice is to have diet with large amounts of these vegetables but don’t overcook them because that destroys the valuable properties. The green vegetable isothiocyanates appear to trigger a self-destruct programme in cancer cells. This self-destruct mechanism, or apoptosis, activates enzymes to breakdown the cancer cell which is cleared by other cells in the body. When apoptosis fails to trigger, cancer cells can develop resistance to conventional anticancer drugs. “We’re seeing new effects that haven’t previously been seen with these compounds. They appear to be able to kill cells that are resistant to conventional treatments. “We are now developing technologies to see exactly how they work within cells. It’s an exciting area of research, and anything that we learn about what happens inside cancer cells is important.” While the vegetables themselves will not be effective at treating existing cancers, the research could lead to the design and synthesis of new anticancer drugs that mimic the important properties of the plant compounds. Dr Hampton, originally from Marlborough, is part of the Free Radical Research Group at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Christchurch. He attributes much of his success to the quality of people in his team, and the long-term mentorship of Professor Christine Winterbourn. He is supported in his research by a Sir Charles Hercus Fellowship from the Health Research Council of New Zealand. Dr Hampton’s interest in apoptosis was sparked during a period working with high profile international scientist, Professor Stenn Orrenius in Sweden. For more information contact: Dr Mark Hampton
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