Washington : Broccoli and red chilli peppers may help fight cancer by slowing the growth of cancerous tumour cells, US researchers reported recently.

They may be especially helpful in hard-to-treat cancers such as pancreatic and ovarian cancer, the team at the University of Pittsburgh said. "In our studies, we decided to look at two particular cancers - ovarian and pancreatic - with low survival rates, to ascertain the contribution of diet and nutrition to the development of these cancers," said Sanjay Srivastava, who led the study.

"We discovered that red chilli pepper and broccoli appear to be effective inhibitors of the cancer process."