Dietary Seaweed and Early Breast Cancer: A Randomized Trial

May 10, 2021 updated by: University of South Carolina
Could daily consumption of seaweed help explain lower postmenopausal breast cancer (BC) incidence and mortality rates in Japan? This small proof of principle clinical trial was designed to test the idea that the same amount of seaweed normally eaten in Japan would induce metabolic changes when given to non-seaweed consuming healthy postmenopausal American women. The participants were given 10 capsules a day (about 1 tablespoon) for 3 months. During the first month the capsules contained placebo, the second month seaweed, and the third month placebo. We collected blood and urine samples after each treatment period and tested for changes in protein expression that might be related to consuming seaweed.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The relationship between the relative breast cancer (BC) risk and seaweed intake among humans is only now unfolding. A small body of research, both in vivo and in vitro, suggests seaweed may be useful in BC prevention (Funahashi et al. 1999; Teas et al. 1984; Yamamoto et al. 1987) . Seaweeds are specifically used to treat tumors in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Japanese folk medicine. On a population level, those people for whom seaweed is a regular part of their diet, most notably in Japan, have dramatically lower rates of BC (Hebert et al. 1998; Hebert and Rosen 1996; Kodama et al. 1991).

Epidemiologic studies done in Japan in the 1980s, before Westernized diets were common, reported that Japanese women had 1/3 the rate of premenopausal BC and 1/9 the rate of postmenopausal BC (Ferlay et al. 2001; Reddy et al. 1980). Even today, BC incidence rates for women in Japan are 20/100,000 compared to the U.S. average of 118/100,000 (Statistics 2007) . Although genetic predisposition has been proposed, when rates among migrants from Japan to the US are compared, BC incidence almost doubles after 10 years of residence in the US (20/100,000 to 35/100,000) (Shimizu et al. 1991), increase with each successive generation (LeMarchand et al. 1985). Japanese-American women who develop BC have significantly better survival rates than other American ethnic groups (Kanemori and Prygrocki 2005; Pineda et al. 2001). On the other hand, Asian-American women over 50 years of age living in Los Angeles, especially Japanese-American women, have one of the most rapidly increasing BC incidence rates (Deapen et al. 2002). These data support the hypothesis that lifestyle changes and possibly gene-nutrient interactions are important in BC susceptibility.

Seaweed is a typical part of East-Asian diets, although consumption varies widely among individuals (Fukuda et al. 2007). Seaweeds have no land equivalents in terms of their specific components of fiber (alginate), primary carotenoid (fucoxanthin), sulfated polysaccharide (fucoidan and laminarin), and polyphenol defense compounds, each of which has been reported to have strong anti-cancer activity (Kotake-Nara et al. 2005; Koyanagi et al. 2003; Miao et al. 1999; Son et al. 2003).

Many in vivo and in vitro studies of dietary seaweed report decreased angiogenesis and increased apoptosis of tumor cells (Konishi et al. 2006; Koyanagi et al. 2003; Sekiya et al. 2005), inhibition of tumor cell adhesion and metastasis (Liu et al. 2005) and enhanced immune responses (Maruyama et al. 2003; Maruyama et al. 2006). Nishino and colleagues have investigated seaweed modulation of the urokinase plasminogen system (Nishino et al. 1999; Nishino et al. 2000). Based on the wide range of antitumor effects, we investigated the possibility that seaweed could affect uPAR concentrations in women who consume seaweed. The urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA), urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR, CD87), and its plasminogen inhibitors 1 and 2 are central to the maintenance of homeostasis, directly affecting the extracellular matrix (ECM), inflammation, tissue repair. Increased concentrations have been shown to be associated with more rapid cancer progression (Foekens et al. 2000). Urinary concentration of uPAR is highly correlated with urinary uPA concentrations, and both are correlated with tissue concentration (Foekens et al. 2000; Sier et al. 2004).When uPA/uPAR concentrations are increased, there is increased ECM degradation that allows cancer cells to migrate, leading to metastases. Urokinase is also used therapeutically to treat serious conditions involving blood clots. In clinical studies, tissue concentration of uPA is an independent prognostic predictor of BC progression (Ceccarelli et al. 2010; Look et al. 2002).

We therefore included evaluation of one part of the urokinase system, uPAR, in this study as a possible biomarker for seaweed activity that might be related to BC prevention.

To further assess whether a dietary seaweed intervention could alter protein expression in urine and serum in a non-seaweed consuming population of healthy postmenopausal women, we used surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization time of flight coupled with mass spectrometer (SELDI-TOF-MS). Proteomic analyses have been used to identify cancer biomarkers with high sensitivity and specificity, including those related to BC (Gast et al. 2008; Shimizu et al. 1991; van Winden et al. 2009). SELDI has also been shown to be sensitive enough to be used to identify changes in serum associated with the addition of a novel food (green tea) (Tsuneki et al. 2004).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

15

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • South Carolina
      • Columbia, South Carolina, United States, 29208
        • University of South Carolina Cancer Research Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

45 years to 68 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy
  • Postmenopausal (verified by follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) [23.0-116 mIU/ml]
  • Omnivorous eating habits (including meat and dairy products more than twice per week)
  • Limit alcoholic intake to ≤ 1 drink (12 g alcohol)/week

Exclusion Criteria:

  • No allergies to seaweed, soy, shellfish or iodine
  • No current use of tobacco
  • No hormone replacement therapy
  • For BC survivors, no chemotherapy or radiation treatments within the preceding 6 months
  • No history of cancer (other than BC or squamous cell skin cancer) within the previous 20 years
  • No current gastrointestinal disorders or diabetes
  • No oral antibiotics taken in the previous 3 months

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
5 g/d placebo (maltodextrin)in 10 500-mg capsules for 1 month
Other: Placebo
Ten 500-mg capsules to be taken orally each day for 1 month
Other Names:
  • Maltodextrin
Experimental: Seaweed
Seaweed (Undaria pinnatifida) given orally in ten 500-mg capsules for 1 month
Other: Seaweed
Ten 500-mg capsules to be taken orally each day for 1 month
Other Names:
  • Undaria pinnatifida
Placebo Comparator: Placebo2
5 g/d placebo in 10 500-mg capsules for one month
Other: Placebo2
Ten 500-mg capsules to be taken orally each day for 1 month
Other Names:
  • Maltodextrin

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Urinary urokinase receptor concentration
Time Frame: 3 months
ELISA test for uPAR concentration
3 months
Surface Enhanced Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time Of Flight-Mass Spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS)identification of urinary and serum protein changes
Time Frame: 3 months
SELDI-TOF-MS was used to measure urinary and serum protein changes
3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Urinary iodine concentrations
Time Frame: 3 months
Urinary iodine concentration changes were used to indicate adherence to taking the seaweed supplement.
3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of South Carolina

Collaborators

U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Jane Teas, Ph.D., University of South Carolina

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

October 1, 2006

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2007

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 9, 2012

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 9, 2012

First Posted (Estimate)

August 13, 2012

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 11, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 10, 2021

Last Verified

May 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • DAMD-17-98-1-8207

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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