3,3'-Diindolylmethane Dose-Dependently Prevents Advanced Prostate Cancer

3,3′-Diindolylmethane (DIM) is an acid-derived dimer of indole-3-carbinol, found in many cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, and has been shown to inhibit prostate cancer (PCa) in several in vitro and in vivo models. We demonstrated that DIM stimulated both estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) transcriptional activities and propose that ERβ plays a role in mediating DIM′s inhibition on cancer cell growth. To further study the effects of DIM on inhibiting advanced PCa development, we tested DIM in TRAMP (TRansgenic Adenocarcinoma of the Mouse Prostate) mice. The control group of mice were fed a high fat diet. Three additional groups of mice were fed the same high fat diet supplemented with 0.04%, 0.2% and 1% DIM. Incidence of advanced PCa, poorly differentiated carcinoma (PDC), in the control group was 60%. 1% DIM dramatically reduced PDC incidence to 24% (p=0.0012), while 0.2% and 0.04% DIM reduced PDC incidence to 38% (p=0.047) and 45% (p=0.14) respectively. Though DIM did affect mice weights, statistical analysis showed a clear negative association between DIM concentration and PDC incidence with p=0.004, while the association between body weight and PDC incidence was not significant (p=0.953). In conclusion, our results show that dietary DIM can inhibit the most aggressive stage of prostate cancer at a concentration lower than previously demonstrated, possibly working through an estrogen receptor mediated mechanism.