Ground Breaking Breast Cancer Research Happening in Kansas City

Kansas City, MO. - Imagine a low cost, over-the-counter supplement that prevents breast cancer and does not have potentially problematic side effects. Last summer, the University of Kansas Cancer Center researcher Carol Fabian, MD, a leader in the area of breast cancer prevention, received a $4.5 million Promise Grant from Susan G. Komen for the Cure to investigate whether an estrogen found in flax seed - a communly used supplement - can reduce the risk of breast cancer.

Secoisolariciresinol (SDG) is a weak plant estrogen, but its highest concentration is found in flax seed. Dr. Fabian, along with a team of researchers at the University of Texas-Austin will share the $4.5 million grant, will study whether SDG can be used a prevention strategy for pre-menopausal women at high risk for developing breast cancer. The study is currently being conducted in eight universities across the country.

"We want to test whether SDG is likely to reduce risk for breast cancer in pre-menopausal women," says Dr. Fabian, who is the director of the KU Breast Cancer Prevention Center. "We will try to confirm the apparent reduction in cell growth and pre-cancerous cells observed in an eariler pilot study."

If you are a pre-menopausal woman with an increase risk of developing breast cancer, you might be eligible to participate in the clinical trial. Participants will be randomized to take a daily supplement with SDG or a placebo for 12 months. For more information on this study or to find out how to participate, please click here.