LONDON, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- British researchers have discovered a substance found in beans, nuts and cereals inhibits the growth of cancerous tumors in mice.
A study of inositol pentakisphosphate at University College London found it inhibits the activity of the enzyme phosphoinositide 3-kinas, which is involved in tumor growth.
A team led by Dr. Marco Falasca of the University College London Sackler Institute found inositol enhanced the activity of anti-cancer drugs in ovarian and lung cancer cells, and inhibited tumor growth in mice.
Falasca said available drugs that inhibit phosphoinositide 3-kinas are toxic. Inositol, by contrast, appears to have no ill effects.
"Our study suggests the importance of a diet enriched in food such as beans, nuts and cereals which could help prevent cancer," Falasca said. "Our work will now focus on establishing whether the phosphate inhibitor can be developed into an anti-cancer agent for human therapy."
The study was published in the journal Cancer Research.
