# Biomarkers of Sulforaphane/Broccoli Sprout Extract in Prostate Cancer

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2021 · $219,491

## Abstract

Abstract
Malignancy of the prostate remains a leading cause of cancer-related deaths among American men.
Chemoprevention using safe and inexpensive phytochemicals from edible or medicinal plants is clinically
attractive for reducing both morbidity and mortality from prostate cancer. Sulforaphane (SFN), which is the
principal bioactive phytochemical in broccoli sprout extract (BSE), has emerged as a particularly potent
chemopreventive agent based on its ability to target multiple mechanisms to control carcinogenesis. The overall
goal of the parent NCI-funded R01 award (R01 CA225716-02) was to determine the feasibility of inhibiting fatty
acid metabolism for chemoprevention of prostate cancer using SFN and BSE. This revision application will
incorporate the IMAT-funded super-resolution microscopy technology that can detect the cumulative changes in
disrupted nanoscale chromatin folding at different epigenetic states during carcinogenesis to (a) accurately
quantify the reduction of cancer risk from multiple molecular pathways and (b) further understand the alteration
of higher-order chromatin folding under the influences of metabolism in the context of chemopreventive
intervention for prostate cancer. This revision project will incorporate the IMAT-funded super-resolution
microscopy as follows:
Specific Aim 1: Determine whether chemoprevention of prostate cancer by SFN and BroccoMax® (which
is being used as a source of SFN in the clinical trial in specific aim 3 of the parent R01) in Hi-Myc
transgenic mice is associated with alterations in nanoscale chromatin folding.
Specific Aim 2: Determine whether higher-order chromatin folding is altered in PTEN-deletion mouse
model of prostate cancer, and whether this phenotype is reversed following dietary administration of
SFN and BroccoMax®.
Specific Aim 3: Validate the human relevance of disrupted chromatin folding and evaluate its feasibility
to risk-stratify patients with prostate cancer.
Impact: This revision project will open a new avenue for cancer risk stratification and facilitate the evaluation of
chemopreventive intervention and establish the relationship between disrupted nanoscale chromatin folding
that fuels carcinogenesis and metabolism in the context of chemopreventive intervention.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10111666
- **Project number:** 3R01CA225716-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Shivendra Singh
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $219,491
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-01-01 → 2022-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10111666

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10111666, Biomarkers of Sulforaphane/Broccoli Sprout Extract in Prostate Cancer (3R01CA225716-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10111666. Licensed CC0.

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