Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Two chemicals found in unprocessed rice, corn and beans helped protect DNA from harmful radiation, scientists said, a discovery that may lead to skin cancer prevention and ways to ease radiation therapy side effects.
Researchers at the University of Maryland found the two molecules protected both human skin cells and mice prone to skin tumors against damage from the cancer-causing ultraviolet B radiation found in sunlight.
About half of all cancer sufferers receive radiation therapy, which can cause infertility, hair loss, diarrhea and nausea, the National Cancer Institute said on its Web site.
Doctors are also looking for better ways to prevent skin cancer, which will strike about 65,000 people in the U.S. this year, according to the American Cancer Society.
The two substances may "offer protection against both acute and long-term effects of not only solar, but also cosmic, nuclear and other forms of radiation," said Abulkalam Shamsuddin, who led the research at the university's medical school.
One of the chemicals, inositol hexaphosphate, or IP6, is already available in pills, though studies on its cancer-fighting ability haven't yet been done in people, according to the cancer society Web site. The compound could also be incorporated into a sunscreen, Shamsuddin said.
Mice genetically engineered to be susceptible to skin cancer were less than half as likely to develop the disease after drinking water laced with IP6 as mice that drank normal water, Shamsuddin said. Mice in the treatment group that did develop cancers had about half as many tumors as the other mice, he said.
In a separate experiment, mice treated with a cream containing both IP6 and inositol were also less likely to develop tumors after exposure to ultraviolet B rays, Shamsuddin said.
The findings, presented for the first time today at the American Association for Cancer Research conference in Singapore, may also suggest IP6 could be used to protect astronauts, pilots and frequent air travelers against the effects of radiation, which can be greater at high altitude, Shamsuddin said.