One more anti cancer agency is now firmly in play and most important,
it addresses the pathway that allows metastasis. Most cancer can be
lived with if it does not grow and does not metastase.
Thus a simple safe drug that stalls the disease is actually good
enough and in many cases the wisest solution. Plenty of problems
will emerge in the body and be fought to a stand still by the immune
system. Yet when the problem is actually removed, the body lowers
its defenses allowing yet another emergence. Planters warts are a
good example. They can be trimmed forever as long as they are not
inconvenient. Yet removal will present a new one shortly simply
because the virus is still in play.
The same surely holds true for some cancers.
No mention here is made of the actual plant unfortunately, but I am
sure it will easily be found. In the meantime it appears that the
protein itself can be made available shortly.
Bioactive Protein
from Ancient Medicinal Plant May Help Combat Melanoma and Other
Cancers
Released: 7/23/2012
4:00 PM EDT
Newswise —
STRATFORD, N.J. – An international team of scientists led by Gary
Goldberg, PhD, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New
Jersey-School of Osteopathic Medicine (UMDNJ-SOM), has found that a
protein from the seeds of a plant used for centuries in traditional
medicines may be able to halt the spread of melanoma, a lethal form
of skin cancer. The National Cancer Institute estimates that melanoma
will cause more than 9,000 deaths in the United States this year. On
average, melanoma kills one person nearly every hour in the USA, and
many more in other countries.
Previously published
research prompted Dr. Goldberg’s team to examine a protein
extracted from the seeds of a legume tree that is native to parts of
Asia. References to this tree being used medicinally can be found in
ancient Chinese documents that date back more than 400 years. Dr.
Goldberg and his colleagues found that MASL, a specific component
found in the plant’s seeds, interacts with a receptor called
podoplanin (PDPN) that is expressed by many types of cancer cells.
This discovery seemed profound as they and other investigators found
that the PDPN receptor promotes tumor invasion and metastasis to
other parts of the body that are sources of the vast majority of
cancer deaths.
“Cells, even when
they are cancerous, tend to stay put,” Dr. Goldberg explained.
“PDPN allows tumor cells to break out of their microenvironment,
invade new areas and metastasize. Our laboratory research shows that
MASL not only significantly reduces cell migration, it also inhibits
cancer cell growth.”
Dr. Goldberg
collaborated with other investigators at UMDNJ, Nagoya University,
the University of Michigan and GlaxoSmithKline to find that MASL
targets the PDPN receptor to inhibit the migration and growth of
melanoma cells in cell culture and mouse models. The findings appear
in the July 23 edition of PLoS ONE.
Although these studies
focused on melanoma, MASL may also be useful to treat and prevent
a variety of other cancers that express PDPN. Dr. Goldberg's
group has collaborated with the Developmental Therapeutics Program at
the National Cancer Institute of the NIH to find that MASL can
effectively suppress the growth of lung, breast, prostate, colon, and
brain cancer cells that are often resistant to current therapies.
Many anti-cancer drugs
cause significant side effects because they indiscriminately kill all
dividing cells rather than precisely targeting cancerous ones. Often,
these medications need to be given intravenously and many do not work
well on specific cancers including malignant melanoma. In contrast,
Dr. Goldberg's findings indicate that MASL can be taken orally to
effectively combat cancer.
The researchers also
found that MASL caused no noticeable side effects at doses
necessary to inhibit cancer cell growth and migration. “The
absence of any noticeable side effects isn’t surprising,” Dr.
Goldberg said. “For centuries, MASL has been taken as a component
in medicinal plant extracts used to treat a variety of ailments
including cancer. According to standard traditional protocols,
these preparations contain very high doses of MASL, yet we can not
find any reports of toxicity from its use.”
Dr. Goldberg and
his colleagues have recently founded a company named Sentrimed to
develop MASL and other diagnostic and therapeutic agents for
animals and humans.
Journalists who wish
to interview Dr. Goldberg regarding this study should contact Rob
Forman, UMDNJ News Service, at 973-972-7276 or formanra@umdnj.edu.
The University of
Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) is New Jersey’s only
health sciences university with more than 6,000 students on five
campuses attending three medical schools, the State’s only dental
school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health
related professions, a school of nursing and New Jersey’s only
school of public health. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level
I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare,
which provides a continuum of healthcare services with multiple
locations throughout the State.
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