Strawberry Fields Forever

Strawberries slow the growth of precancerous esophogeal cancer

(RxWiki News) "Not only is it good for you, it taste good too!" This familiar statement now applies to strawberries and their potential to fight cancer.

Scientists found daily consumption of strawberries suppress biomarkers associated wtih esophageal cancer cell development and growth.

"Eating strawberries may slow down cancer."

Dr. Tong Chen and researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center used data collected from 36 chinese study participants with precancerous lesions in their esophagus, who ate two ounces of freeze-dried strawberries for six months everyday.

Compared to the pretreatment biopsy results, 29 of the 36 participants showed a decrease in histological grade of their precancerous lesions in the post-treatment biopsy.

Eating two ounces of strawberries in addition to using chemopreventitive drugs targeted at esophogeal cancer might be an effective combination in slowing the progress of esophogeal lesions.

Randomized placebo-controlled studies are needed to confirm these results.

Review Date: 
April 7, 2011