More information: “Acupuncture versus Venlafaxine for the Management of Vasomotor Symptoms in Hormone Receptor Positive Breast Cancer Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” Journal of Clinical Oncology.

ScienceDaily (Feb. 23, 2010) — Bitter melon extract, a common dietary supplement, exerts a significant effect against breast cancer cell growth and may eventually become a chemopreventive agent against this form of cancer, according to results of a recent study.

“Our findings suggest that bitter melon extract modulates several signal transduction pathways, which induces breast cancer cell death,” said lead researcher Ratna B. Ray, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pathology at Saint Louis University. “This extract can be utilized as a dietary supplement for the prevention of breast cancer.”

Results of this study are published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Previous research has shown Momordica charantia, also known as bitter melon, to have hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects, according to Ray. Because of these effects, the extract is commonly used in folk medicines as a remedy for diabetes in locales such as India, China and Central America, according to the researchers.

Using human breast cancer cells and primary human mammary epithelial cells in vitro, Ray and colleagues found the mechanism of bitter melon extract significantly decreased proliferation, that is, cell growth and division, and induced death in breast cancer cells. These early results offer an encouraging path for research into breast cancer.

“Breast cancer is a major killer among women around the world, and in that perspective, results from this study are quite significant,” said Rajesh Agarwal, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Colorado, Denver School of Pharmacy. “This study may provide us with one more agent as an extract that could be used against breast cancer if additional studies hold true.”

According to Agarwal, the Cancer Research associate editor for this study, the simple study design, clear-cut results and the overall importance of these findings in breast cancer prevention makes this research different from previous research.

However, he stressed that “this study is only a step towards establishing the cancer preventive efficacy of bitter melon against breast cancer.” Additional studies are needed to further understand the molecular targets of bitter melon extract in cancer cells, as well as for establishing its in vivo efficacy. Agarwal gave a note of caution, stating that while these results do provide hope as an anti-cancer agent, it is important to establish the validity of these results in animal models before adding them to one’s diet to inhibit breast cancer cell growth.

Ray and colleagues are currently conducting follow-up studies using a number of cancer cell lines to examine the anti-proliferative effect of the extract. They are also planning a preclinical trial to evaluate its chemopreventive efficacy by oral administration.

Bitter melon extract is cultivated in Asia, Africa and South America. Extract of this vegetable is being popularized as a dietary supplement in Western Countries, since it is known to contain additional glycosides such as mormordin, vitamin C, carotenoids, flavanoids and polyphenols.

American Association for Cancer Research (2010, February 23). Bitter melon extract decreased breast cancer cell growth. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 1, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2010/02/100223131956.htm

Bio-Communications Research Institute’s (BCRI’s) recent research study has found that high levels of vitamin C (ascorbate) inhibit the formation of new blood vessel growth to tumors.

To grow, tumors rely on a high level of nutrients to flow to the tumor site. This nutrient flow is critical to tumor growth and is facilitated in the host body by the growth of new blood vessels. The new blood vessel growth process is known as angiogenesis. In tumor angiogenesis, the blood vessels grow to support the growth of the tumor. This groundbreaking BCRI study has shown that angiogenesis or the proliferation of new blood vessels, in support of tumor growth, is retarded when high levels of vitamin C are present in the blood. High levels of vitamin C saturation necessary for angiogenesis to occur are obtainable with the intravenous infusion of vitamin C (ascorbate).

In the study published in the February 2010 issue of Journal of Angiogenesis Research, two assays were used to evaluate the effect of high-doses of vitamin C on the inhibition of new blood vessel growth. One was ex vivo and one in vivo and both illustrated the inhibition characteristics vitamin C has on new tumor blood vessel growth. The in vivo assay treated with vitamin C indicated 30% less blood vessel growth than untreated tissue.

This current study meshes well with other pioneering research that has been the hallmark of BCRI’s history. In a previous study (Sept, 2005) BCRI researchers found that intravenous infusions of vitamin C were selectively toxic to tumor cells.

For years, researchers at BCRI have been recognized nationally and internationally for great strides in natural treatments, vitamin C research, and stem cell research.

BCRI’s long history in research is presently headed by Dr. Neil H. Riordan. The research team includes Dr. Xiaolong Meng, Dr. Joseph Casciari, Dr. Nina Mikirova, Dr. Jie Zhong, Andrea Rogers B.S., Dr. James A. Jackson, Dr. Don Davis, Dr. Jorge Miranda, Dr. Michael Gonzalez, and Paul Taylor B.S./B.A.

BCRI is a division of The Center for the Improvement of Human Functioning International (CIHFI) — CIHFI, a 501 (c) 3 foundation, was founded 35 years ago by Hugh D. Riordan, M.D. The foundation is comprised of four major divisions: the Olive W. Garvey Center for Healing Arts, the Bio-Center Laboratory, the Bio-Communications Research Institute, and the Bio-Medical Synergistics Education Institute. The medical doctors at CIHFI have seen patients from all 50 states and from 48 foreign countries.

Source: Bio-Communications Research Institute

By Stephen Daniells, 10-Feb-2010

Related topics: Nutritional lipids and oils, Cancer risk reduction, Women’s health

Supplements of the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) may improve outcomes for breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, says a new study from France.

A daily dose of 1.8 grams of DHA also produced no adverse effects, according to a new study published in the British Journal of Cancer.

“Our data show for the first time that a dietary intervention targeted on DHA is a feasible approach that has potential to substantially increase survival in metastatic breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy,” wrote the researchers, led by Dr Philippe Bougnoux from the French Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) U921 in Tours.

Being a phase II clinical trial, the research represents an “incentive to set up a prospective-controlled randomised trial aimed at identifying the place of dietary DHA in breast cancer treatments”, added the researchers.

Every year about 1.3 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer around the world, with just fewer than half a million deaths associated with the disease, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).

While the incidence of the disease has increased by about 30 per cent over the last 25 years in the west, death rates have declined dur to improved detection and tratments, said the ACS.

The new study, if supported by additional research, suggests that DHA may help improve survival by sensitising tumours to chemotherapy, said Dr Bougnoux and his co-workers.

Study details

The Tours-based researchers recruited 25 women with breast cancer to participate in their open-label single-arm phase II study. As part of their anthracycline-based chemotherapy (FEC) regimen women were given additional DHA (1.8 grams per day, DHA-enriched triglyceride oil of algal origin, supplied by Martek Biosciences) for between 2 and 96 months.

After an average of 31 months, Dr Bougnoux and his co-workers found that the overall survival of women was 22 months, and reached 34 months in women with the highest DHA levels in their blood.

“Although the median time to progression (6 months) and overall survival (22 months) in our study were within the frame of published data, it should be stressed that our patient population had a particularly poor prognosis, as 68 per cent had liver metastases in addition to other sites of metastases,” stated the researchers. “The median overall survival of patients having liver metastases was reported to be 14 months.”

Importantly the DHA supplements during chemotherapy were not associated with any adverse side effects, they added.

Source: British Journal of Cancer
Volume 101, Pages 1978–1985, doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6605441
“Improving outcome of chemotherapy of metastatic breast cancer by docosahexaenoic acid: a phase II trial”
Authors: P. Bougnoux, N. Hajjaji, M.N. Ferrasson, B. Giraudeau, C. Couet, O. Le Floch

ScienceDaily (Jan. 6, 2010) — Eating fruit, such as pomegranates, that contain anti-aromatase phytochemicals reduces the incidence of hormone-dependent breast cancer, according to results of a study published in the January issue of Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Pomegranate is enriched in a series of compounds known as ellagitannins that, as shown in this study, appear to be responsible for the anti-proliferative effect of the pomegranate.

“Phytochemicals suppress estrogen production that prevents the proliferation of breast cancer cells and the growth of estrogen-responsive tumors,” said principal investigator Shiuan Chen, Ph.D., director of the Division of Tumor Cell Biology and co-leader of the Breast Cancer Research Program at City of Hope in Duarte, Calif.

Previous research has shown that pomegranate juice — punica granatum L — is high in antioxidant activity, which is generally attributed to the fruit’s high polyphenol content. Ellagic acid found in pomegranates inhibits aromatase, an enzyme that converts androgen to estrogen. Aromatase plays a key role in breast carcinogenesis; therefore, the growth of breast cancer is inhibited.

Chen, along with Lynn Adams, Ph.D., a research fellow at Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, and colleagues, evaluated whether phytochemicals in pomegranates can suppress aromatase and ultimately inhibit cancer growth.

After screening and examining a panel of 10 ellagitannin-derived compounds in pomegranates, the investigators found that those compounds have the potential to prevent estrogen-responsive breast cancers. Urolithin B, which is a metabolite produced from ellagic acid and related compounds, significantly inhibited cell growth.

“We were surprised by our findings,” said Chen. “We previously found other fruits, such as grapes, to be capable of the inhibition of aromatase. But, phytochemicals in pomegranates and in grapes are different.”

According to Gary Stoner, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at Ohio State University, additional studies will be needed to confirm the chemopreventive action of Urolithin B against hormone-dependent breast cancer.

“This is an in vitro study in which relatively high levels of ellagitannin compounds were required to demonstrate an anti-proliferative effect on cultured breast cancer cells,” said Stoner, who is not associated with this study. “It’s not clear that these levels could be achieved in animals or in humans because the ellagitannins are not well absorbed into blood when provided in the diet.”

Stoner believes these results are promising enough to suggest that more experiments with pomegranate in animals and humans are warranted.

Powel Brown, M.D., Ph.D., medical oncologist and chairman of the Clinical Cancer Prevention Department at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, agreed with Stoner’s sentiments and said these results are intriguing. He recommended that future studies focus on testing pomegranate juice for its effect on estrogen levels, menopausal symptoms, breast density or even as a cancer preventive agent.

“More research on the individual components and the combination of chemicals is needed to understand the potential risks and benefits of using pomegranate juice or isolated compounds for a health benefit or for cancer prevention,” Brown said. “This study does suggest that studies of the ellagitannins from pomegranates should be continued.”

Until then, Stoner said people “might consider consuming more pomegranates to protect against cancer development in the breast and perhaps in other tissues and organs.”

Adapted from materials provided by American Association for Cancer Research, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

ScienceDaily (Dec. 27, 2009) — A new study finds that the herb milk thistle may help treat liver inflammation in cancer patients who receive chemotherapy. Published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that the herb could allow patients to take potent doses of chemotherapy without damaging their liver.

Chemotherapy drugs frequently cause inflammation in the liver, and when they do, doctors must often lower patients’ doses or stop administering the therapies altogether. Clinical studies have investigated using milk thistle to treat liver damage from cirrhosis (from alcohol) or toxins (such as mushroom poisoning). Despite limited study data, the herb is often used for the treatment of chemotherapy associated liver problems. To test whether milk thistle could help treat chemotherapy associated liver problems, Kara Kelly, MD, of the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center’s Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center in New York City and colleagues conducted a randomized, controlled, double blind study in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), who commonly experience this side effect.

Fifty children with ALL were enrolled in the study and were randomized to receive milk thistle or placebo for 28 days. At the start of the study, all of the children had evidence of liver inflammation as measured by elevations in blood levels of the liver enzymes, aspartate amino transferase (AST) and amino alanine transferase (ALT). When the investigators performed liver function tests on the children at day 56 (28 days after receiving the herb or placebo), children receiving milk thistle had improvements in their liver enzymes compared with children receiving a placebo. Specifically, the group that took milk thistle had significantly lower levels of AST and a trend towards significantly lower levels of ALT. Taking milk thistle also seemed to help keep fewer patients from having to lower the dose of their medications: chemotherapy doses were reduced in 61 percent of the group receiving milk thistle, compared with 72 percent of the placebo group. In addition, milk thistle appeared to be safe for consumption.

The researchers also studied the effects of combining milk thistle with chemotherapy on leukemia cells grown in the laboratory. They found that milk thistle does not interfere with the cancer-fighting properties of chemotherapy.

“Milk thistle needs to be studied further, to see how effective it is for a longer course of treatment, and whether it works well in reducing liver inflammation in other types of cancers and with other types of chemotherapy,” said Dr. Kelly. “However, our results are promising as there are no substitute medications for treating liver toxicity.”

Ladas et al. A randomized, controlled, double-blind, pilot study of milk thistle for the treatment of hepatotoxicity in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Cancer, 2009; DOI: 10.1002/cncr.24723

ScienceDaily (Dec. 8, 2009) — A new study finds that compounds derived from the spices turmeric and pepper could help prevent breast cancer by limiting the growth of stem cells, the small number of cells that fuel a tumor’s growth.

Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have found that when the dietary compounds curcumin, which is derived from the Indian spice turmeric, and piperine, derived from black peppers, were applied to breast cells in culture, they decreased the number of stem cells while having no effect on normal differentiated cells.

“If we can limit the number of stem cells, we can limit the number of cells with potential to form tumors,” says lead author Madhuri Kakarala, M.D., Ph.D., R.D., clinical lecturer in internal medicine at the U-M Medical School and a research investigator at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.

Cancer stem cells are the small number of cells within a tumor that fuel the tumor’s growth. Current chemotherapies do not work against these cells, which is why cancer recurs and spreads. Researchers believe that eliminating the cancer stem cells is key to controlling cancer. In addition, decreasing the number of normal stem cells — unspecialized cells that can give rise to any type of cell in that organ — can decrease the risk of cancer.

In this study, a solution of curcumin and piperine was applied to the cell cultures at the equivalent of about 20 times the potency of what could be consumed through diet. The compounds are available at this potency in a capsule form that could be taken by mouth.

The researchers applied a series of tests to the cells, looking at markers for breast stem cells and the effects of curcumin and piperine, both alone and combined, on the stem cell levels. They found that piperine enhanced the effects of curcumin, and that the compounds interrupted the self-renewal process that is the hallmark of cancer-initiating stem cells. At the same time, the compounds had no affect on cell differentiation, which is the normal process of cell development.

“This shows that these compounds are not toxic to normal breast tissue,” Kakarala says. “Women at high risk of breast cancer right now can choose to take the drugs tamoxifen or raloxifene for prevention, but most women won’t take these drugs because there is too much toxicity. The concept that dietary compounds can help is attractive, and curcumin and piperine appear to have very low toxicity.”

Curcumin and piperine have been explored by other researchers as a potential cancer treatment. But this paper, published online in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, is the first to suggest these dietary compounds could prevent cancer by targeting stem cells.

In addition, tamoxifen or raloxifene are designed to affect estrogen, which is a factor in most, but not all breast cancers. In fact, the aggressive tumors that tend to occur more often in women with a family history or genetic susceptibility are typically not affected by estrogen. Because curcumin and piperine limit the self renewal of stem cells, they would impact cancers that are not estrogen sensitive as well as those that are.

Researchers are planning an initial Phase I clinical trial to determine what dose of curcumin or piperine can be tolerated in people. The trial is not expected to begin accruing participants until spring.

Breast cancer statistics: 194,280 Americans will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year and 40,610 will die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society

Additional authors include Dean Brenner, Hasan Korkaya, Connie Cheng, Karim Tazi, Christophe Ginestier, Suling Liu, Gabriel Dontu and Max Wicha, all from U-M

Funding was provided by the National Institutes of Health; curcumin and piperine were donated by Sabinsa Co.

Journal Reference:

1. Madhuri Kakarala, Dean E. Brenner, Hasan Korkaya, Connie Cheng, Karim Tazi, Christophe Ginestier, Suling Liu, Gabriela Dontu and Max S. Wicha. Targeting breast stem cells with the cancer preventive compounds curcumin and piperine. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 2009; DOI: 10.1007/s10549-009-0612-x

ScienceDaily (Dec. 9, 2009) — A new study has found that the amount of vitamin D in patients being treated for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was strongly associated with cancer progression and overall survival. The results will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology in New Orleans.

“These are some of the strongest findings yet between vitamin D and cancer outcome,” says the study’s lead investigator, Matthew Drake, M.D., Ph.D., an endocrinologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. “While these findings are very provocative, they are preliminary and need to be validated in other studies. However, they raise the issue of whether vitamin D supplementation might aid in treatment for this malignancy, and thus should stimulate much more research.”

The researchers’ study of 374 newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients found that 50 percent had deficient vitamin D levels based on the commonly used clinical value of total serum 25(OH)D less than 25 ng/mL. Patients with deficient vitamin D levels had a 1.5-fold greater risk of disease progression and a twofold greater risk of dying, compared to patients with optimal vitamin D levels after accounting for other patient factors associated with worse outcomes.

The study was conducted by a team of researchers from Mayo Clinic and the University of Iowa. These researchers participate in the University of Iowa/Mayo Clinic Lymphoma Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE), which is funded by the National Cancer Institute. The 374 patients were enrolled in an epidemiologic study designed to identify predictors of outcomes in lymphoma. Since this was not a clinical trial, patient management and treatments were not assigned, but rather followed standard of care for clinical practice.

The findings support the growing association between vitamin D and cancer risk and outcomes, and suggest that vitamin D supplements might help even those patients already diagnosed with some forms of cancer, says Dr. Drake. “The exact roles that vitamin D might play in the initiation or progression of cancer is unknown, but we do know that the vitamin plays a role in regulation of cell growth and death, among other processes important in limiting cancer,” he says.

The findings also reinforce research in other fields that suggest vitamin D is important to general health, Dr. Drake says. “It is fairly easy to maintain vitamin D levels through inexpensive daily supplements or 15 minutes in the sun three times a week in the summer, so that levels can be stored inside body fat,” he says. Many physicians recommend 800-1,200 International Units (IU) daily, he adds.

Vitamin D is a steroid hormone obtained from sunlight and converted by the skin into its active form. It also can come from food (naturally or fortified as in milk) or from supplements. It is known best for its role of increasing the flow of calcium into the blood. Because of that role, vitamin D deficiency has long been known to be a major risk factor for bone loss and bone fractures, particularly in elderly people whose skin is less efficient at converting sunlight into vitamin D. But recent research has found that many people suffer from the deficiency, and investigators are actively looking at whether low vitamin D promotes poorer health in general.

Cancer researchers have discovered that vitamin D regulates a number of genes in various cancers, including prostate, colon and breast cancers. Recent studies have suggested that vitamin D deficiency may play a role in causing certain cancers as well as impacting the outcome once someone is diagnosed with cancer.

Researchers looked at vitamin D levels in lymphoma patients because of the observation, culled from U.S. mortality maps issued by the National Cancer Institute, that both incidence and mortality rates of this cancer increase the farther north a person lives in the United States, where sunlight is limited in the winter. Also, several recent reports have concluded that vitamin D deficiency is associated with poor outcomes in other cancers, including breast, colon and head and neck cancer. This is the first study to look at lymphoma outcome.

The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute and the Mayo Hematologic Malignancies Lymphoma Fund.

Background Chinese medicine often targets more than one system and as such comprises several compounds, often in non-purified form, with treatments therefore consisting of whole extracts of herbs rather than isolated compounds. The additive and synergistic effects of the phytochemicals in OMN54, a novel mixture of extracts from three commonly used Chinese medicine components; Ganoderma lucidum, Salvia miltiorrhiza and Scutellaria barbata, were previously demonstrated to have potent anti-cancer activity. This study aims to test whether this heterogeneous, multifunctional and multitargeted agent has an acceptable toxicity profile. Methods We conducted preliminary and formal preclinical tolerability determination of OMN54 in Sprague-Dawley rats. In the preliminary study rats were given OMN54 by oral feeding daily for 14 days at doses of 1000mg/kg, 1750mg/kg, 2500mg/kg or 3000mg/kg per day. A subsequent daily dosing (x 28, 60, 120 or 180) formal toxicology study was conducted in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats at a dose of single dose of 2000mg/kg/day. Results Significant body weight loss was noted in one of the rats treated at 3000mg/kg/day, with decline beginning study day 11. This animal experienced mild GI toxicity in the form of diarrhoea. Gross observation indicated kidney damage (pale kidneys) in both this group and in one rat treated at 2500mg/kg/day. For the later studies, no body weight loss was noted over the course of the study. Blood counts and chemistry were not substantially altered following administration of OMN54, nor were there any findings on histological assessment of organs. Conclusion OMN54 was found to be well tolerated in rat models. OMN54 did not cause any microscopic, anatomic or pathologic changes in exposed animals at the concentrations and under the conditions employed in this study.

Chinese Medicine 2009, 4:22doi:10.1186/1749-8546-4-22