Inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 activity in head and neck cancer cells by genistein.

Genistein, rich in soybean, has been reported to have anti-cancer activity on several cancers. However, the molecular mechanism of its anti-cancer activity still remains unclear. We investigated the effect of genistein on a human oral squamous carcinoma line (SCC-25), and demonstrated that genistein inhibited SCC-25 cell growth via G2/M phase arrest.