The association between dietary factors and prostate cancer has been investigated and one explanation for the low incidence of prostate cancer in Asia could be high consumption of soybean and its products.

Soybean is a species of legume contain high amounts of isoflavones including genistein, daidzein, glycitein, and equol, which have a prophylactic effect on prostate cancer.

Researchers have now found that the compound genistein found in soybeans almost completely prevented the spread of human prostate cancer in mice.
The amount of genistein used in the experiments was no higher than what a human would eat in a soybean-rich diet.

The study found that genistein decreased metastasis of prostate cancer to the lungs by 96 percent compared with mice that did not eat the compound, making the study the first to demonstrate genistein can stop prostate cancer metastasis in a living organism.

The researchers have previously demonstrated in prostate cancer cell cultures that genistein inhibits detachment of cancer cells from a primary prostate tumor and represses cell invasion. It does this by blocking activation of p38 MAP kinases, molecules which regulate pathways that activate proteins that loosen cancer cells from their tight hold within a tumor, pushing them to migrate.

While genistein didn't reduce the size of tumors that developed within the prostate, it stopped lung metastasis almost completely.

Genistein might show some effect in preventing the spread of prostate cancer in patients, and the only way we will find out how promising genistein will be is from conducting human clinical trials.

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References:
1. Jian L. Soy, isoflavones, and prostate cancer. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2008 Nov 4. PMID: 18985655.
2. Raymond C. Bergan, et al. Soy Compound May Halt Spread of Prostate Cancer. American Association for Cancer Research.

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