Anticancer Effect in HL-60 Human Leukemia Cells and Other Helath-Beneficial Functions of Cheese

With regard to the aim of cancer prevention and/or treatment, a considerable number of basic studies have indicated that dairy and other plant-originated natural food products may possess anticancer activity. On the growth of human leukemia cells, for example, enzymatically digested skim milk or fermented milk cultured with various bacteria can exhibit differential suppressive activities. Our research team has previously revealed that highly ripened cheese was capable of demonstrating strong growth inhibition and induction of apoptotic DNA damage on HL-60 human promyelocyticleukemia cells. In this short review, the available information concerning potent anticancer effects of cheese was summarized. From the stand point of Food Science, functional implications for cancer prevention as well as multifaceted function of cheese are discussed.