New Findings May Improve Treatment Of Inherited Breast Cancer

[News]

Scientists have identified some of the elusive downstream molecules that play a critical role in the development and progression of familial breast cancer. The research, published by Cell Press in the October 10th issue of the journal Molecular Cell, also identifies a compound found in grapes and red wine as an excellent candidate for treatment of some forms of breast cancer.

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[gdpawel]

Cancer researchers recognize that hundreds if not thousands of genes must be down-regulated to conquer cancer (i.e. at least 74 genes must be controlled in renal cancer). So all the promiscuous gene inhibitors must be found. Resveratrol favorably switches many genes. Studies have shown the Resveratrol can inhibit cancer initiation, promotion, and progression.

Resveratrol is a type of polyphenol (phytoalexin). It is produced in a plant in response to an invading fungus, stress, injury, infection or ultraviolet irradation. Red wine contains high levels of resveratrol, as do grapes, raspberries, peanuts and other plants.

Resveratrol has been shown to reduce tumor incidence in animals by affecting one or more stages of cancer development. It has been shown to inhibit growth of many types of cancer cells in culture. Evidence also exists that it can reduce inflammation. It reduces activation of NF kappa B, a protein produced by the body's immune system when it is under attack. This protein affects cancer cell growth and metastasis. Resveratrol is also an antioxidant.

While many of the new gene-targeted drugs do not target enough genes, it appears that Resveratrol can target all genes involved in cancer. It is possible that it also chemosensitizes tumor cells, all the genes within the cell, a potentiator of chemotherapy drugs.

Polyphenols are antioxidant compounds found in the skin and seeds of grapes. Red wine contains more polyphenols than white wine because the making of white wine requires the removal of the skins after the grapes are crushed. When wine is made from grapes, the alcohol produced by the fermentation process dissolves the polyphenols contained in the skin and seeds.

What makes this most interesting in cancer is the anti-angiogenic enhancer and potentiator effect of the alcohol in red wine. The alcohol reduces the angiogenic secretions by the tumor cells. If it does that, it could both reduce these secretions and make an anti-angiogenesis drug less resistant to the tumor cells, making it more effective.

In the presence of an anti-angiogenesis drug, you can have a lethel 1-2 combination which knocks out the new blood vessels which are dependent for survival of the cancer. Polyphenols extracted from red wine could be converted into a pill that is highly likely to be safe, relatively easy and inexpensive to create, and deliver.

The use of a polyphenol (Resveratrol) presents important advantages because of its good safety profile, low cost and can be obtained everywhere on the planet.

Cancer Biol Ther. 2004 Sep;3(9):889-90
J Intern Med 2008; 264: 275-287
BMC Urol. 2004 Jun 22;4:9
Epub 2004 Sep 24
PMID: 15467424