From the Guidelines
Diindolylmethane (DIM) has chemopreventive activities in all stages of breast cancer carcinogenesis.
Benefits of DIM
- DIM is a compound found in cruciferous vegetables and has been shown to have antiproliferative and antioxidant activity in breast cancer cells 1.
- The hydrolysis of some compounds found in cruciferous vegetables may yield DIM, which has demonstrated chemopreventive activities in all stages of breast cancer carcinogenesis 1.
- DIM has been suggested to be a reliable biomarker of glucobrassicin exposure and indole-3-carbinol uptake 1.
- A daily intake of 150 g cooked cruciferous vegetables for 4 weeks had no effect on thyroid function, suggesting that consuming cruciferous vegetables is safe and may be beneficial for breast cancer prevention 1.
- The American Institute of Cancer Research, the American Cancer Society, and the NIH have all issued guidelines in support of increasing fruit and vegetable intake, which includes cruciferous vegetables that contain DIM, to reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence 1.
From the Research
Benefits of Diindolylmethane (DIM)
- DIM has been shown to have anti-cancerous activity through various mechanisms, including inducing metabolic catastrophe in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells and regulating aerobic glycolysis and intermediate metabolism 2
- DIM has been found to be a strong androgen antagonist in human prostate cancer cells, suppressing cell proliferation and inhibiting dihydrotestosterone (DHT) stimulation of DNA synthesis 3
- DIM has been shown to promote favorable changes in estrogen metabolism and circulating levels of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) in patients taking tamoxifen for breast cancer 4
- DIM has been found to have a bifunctional hormone disrupter effect, exhibiting both estrogen agonist and androgen antagonist activities 3
- DIM has been shown to activate the estrogen receptor α (ERα) signaling pathway in breast cancer cells at low concentrations (10 μM), inducing proliferation in the absence of estradiol 5
Metabolic Benefits of DIM
- DIM has been shown to regulate metabolic dysregulation in TNBC cells, inhibiting the growth of TNBC tumors in a syngeneic model 2
- DIM has been found to induce metabolic catastrophe in TNBC cells by regulating aerobic glycolysis and intermediate metabolism, downregulating key aerobic glycolysis mediators such as PKM2, GLUT1, and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) 2
Pharmacokinetic Benefits of DIM
- DIM has been shown to undergo significant phase 1 and phase 2 metabolism in humans, with several metabolites present in plasma and urine, including monohydroxylated and dihydroxylated metabolites and their sulfate and glucuronide conjugates 6
- One of the monohydroxylated metabolites of DIM, 3-((1H-indole-3-yl)methyl)indolin-2-one, has been found to exhibit greater potency and efficacy as an aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonist compared to the parent compound DIM 6