Potential of food modification in cancer prevention

This presentation focuses on research that could theoretically be applied to implement the strategy of general population chemoprevention. The concept is based on the premise of enhancing foods with known anticarcinogens through either agricultural methods or food-processing technologies. Two areas of our work are described: (a) garlic cultivated with selenium fertilization and (b) foods high in conjugated linoleic acid. Both selenium and conjugated linoleic acid are powerful chemopreventive agents in the animal tumor model. The rationale of delivering these two specific compounds through the food system will be developed. Preliminary studies will be summarized to show the feasibility of this approach in suppressing carcinogen-induced mammary cancer in rats. Finally, the advantages of using foods to provide anticarcinogens to the general population as part of a chemopreventive strategy will also be discussed.