FOODS THAT FIGHT CANCER

Dr. William Li, president and medical director of the Angiogenesis Foundation, wants to change the way we think about food. But first we have to change the way we think about cancer.

Although one in two American men and one in three American women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, research suggests that far more of us may be walking around with cancer than we would like to believe. “In autopsy studies of people who died in car accidents, up to 40% of women between age 40 and 50 have microscopic cancers in the breast, and about 50% of men in their fifties and sixties have them in their prostate glands,” says Li. “By the time we reach our seventies, virtually 100% of us will have microscopic cancers in our thyroid glands. We probably form microscopic cancers in our bodies all the time. We just don’t know it.”

At issue is the size of the cancers in question. Most, Li explains, never become big enough to present a threat to the normal functioning of the organs where they take up residence; instead, they remain about the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen, unable to grow further without a blood supply. Because these cancers are too small to be detectable, this process repeats itself throughout our lives without our knowledge. Tiny cancers are born, grow to up to half a cubic millimeter in size, and then wait for an opportunity to expand. “We call these dormant cancers,” says Li. “They can sit there for years, or even decades, without ever becoming harmful.”

Hijacking the Body’s Controls

Twenty-five years ago, Li did his research training in the lab of Dr. Judah Folkman. If that name sounds familiar, there’s a good reason; Folkman was a pioneer in the field of cancer research, and his theory of the role of angiogenesis in tumor development forever changed cancer treatment.

Angiogenesis is a big word for a simple concept: it’s the process through which our bodies create new blood vessels. In normal, healthy individuals, new blood vessels grow only under specific circumstances: as part of the healing process for an injury, for instance, or during pregnancy. Our bodies contain a natural system of checks and balances to regulate the growth of blood vessels, known to scientists as angiogenesis stimulators and inhibitors. “The stimulators act as natural fertilizers to get vessels to grow, and the inhibitors prune back extra vessels when they’re no longer needed,” Li explains.

Without blood vessels to supply them with the nutrients necessary for expansion, microscopic cancers have nothing to do and nowhere to go. But as cancer cells mutate, they can hijack the body’s system of checks and balances, using angiogenesis stimulators to create the blood supply they need. A microscopic tumor, given a steady influx of blood, can grow to up to 16,000 times its original size in as little as two weeks. And, of course, what goes in must come out; the blood feeding the tumor is circulated back through the body, now bearing cancer cells that can take up residence in distant organs, leading to metastasis. “This is the turnkey step that converts a harmless cancer into a deadly one,” says Li.

Folkman’s theory was that a growing tumor could be “starved to death,” so to speak, by cutting off its blood supply. Forty years ago, he presented his thesis in the New England Journal of Medicine and was met with skepticism, ridicule and dismissal. Today there are 12 antiangiogenic drugs on the market for cancer treatment, with 26 more in the final stages of human testing and another 100-plus behind them in human trials. Every major pharmaceutical company has an angiogenesis program, and the first FDA-approved antiangiogenic cancer drug, Avastin, is practically a household name.

The Preventive Approach

Li knows the power of antiangiogenic cancer therapy. But he also knows that the sooner a cancer is treated, the more likely a patient is to survive the disease. So why wait until the tumor has a blood supply to call its own? Why not prevent the tumor from ever getting past the microscopic phase? While we have no way to consistently and accurately detect microscopic cancers, we can boost our bodies’ natural ability to produce angiogenesis inhibitors. And we don’t need expensive pharmaceuticals or cutting-edge technology to do it.

Instead, we need red grapes. If you’re not crazy about red grapes, red wine will do the trick. Not a big drinker? Green tea works. If you like curry, you’ll be glad to hear that turmeric can help; if you’re a baker, ready that cinnamon shaker. Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries; oranges, grapefruit and lemons; apples and pineapples; soy beans, kale and bok choy; garlic, tomatoes and olive oil—all these common foods are also weapons against the development of cancer. (Oh, and don’t forget dark chocolate. I know I won’t.)