Mengyuan Du studies the interactions between soy isoflavones and anti-estrogen breast cancer therapies on estrogen-dependent tumor growth. (2006)

        “My undergraduate degree in China allowed me to practice medicine there, but I had never done any research before coming to the U of I. I wanted to continue building on my background in medicine and relate it to nutritional aspects. One of the reasons I am interested in natural remedies is that in China there is a long tradition of using plants as herbal medicine.”

        Research conducted in the Helferich laboratory focuses on how diet and dietary components containing estrogens and anti-estrogens influence the

cancer is a common disease among women, particularly in the United States, and women who are concerned about the possible risks of hormone replacement therapy may consider natural remedies to lower the risks of breast cancer. Soy foods contain a natural phytoestrogen, called genistein, which may influence mammary tumor growth. What was not known was how genistein would interact with tamoxifen, a common anti-estrogen therapy used in women to treat breast cancer”, said Du.

        “To answer this question, I conducted a study in which mice were used to mimic these conditions in humans. We found that tamoxifen inhibited tumor growth, which was similar to humans. However, feeding a genistein-supplemented diet blocked this effect and made the tumors grow again. Therefore, my research suggests that women who are post-menopausal, have had breast cancer and are taking tamoxifen should use caution with soy products and soy supplements because it may increase the incidence of breast cancer.”

        Du added, “One aspect about the Nutritional Sciences program that I value is that the members of my Ph.D. committee are very diverse. When we meet to discuss my progress, they bring opinions from different perspectives, and it is very helpful that they come from different disciplines.”