Today I’d like to discuss a very interesting study concerning the effect of curcumin, black raspberry extract and neem leaf extract on pancreatic cancer cells and radioresistance (see: http://goo.gl/xGqm2), even though I’m in a bit of a hurry because my parents are arriving tomorrow from the States…so I’m a bit distracted and frazzled, as you’ll notice from my lack of editing…and numerous repetitions, I’m sure! Sorry about that! :).
Before I begin, though, I wanted to spend a few words on the issue of “radioresistance.” The following is based, of course, on what I’ve read here and there. One of the unfortunate side effects of radiotherapy, or radiation therapy, which is commonly used in many types of cancer treatment, is that it stimulates the already super hyper NF-kappaB signalling pathway. Why is this unfortunate? Well, in a nut shell, it means that cancer cells are able to avoid being blasted to smithereens.
When it becomes super stimulated, in fact, NF-kappaB (by the way, I’ve written a lot about how this blasted pathway works in myeloma…just search my blog for more info) actually turns on pro-survival molecules that protect cancer cells from treatment-caused death. This is, understandably, a huge problem with radiation treatments and, come to think of it, also with chemotherapy…Why? Because when cancer cells escape death, they become stronger and resistant to future treatments. And yes, this happens in myeloma, too. Eh.
But let’s say you can administer something that’s able to inhibit this additional stimulation of an already-hopping-and-bopping NF-kappaB, thus effectively annihilating the various survival mechanisms used by cancer cells. Let’s say that you can actually ENHANCE the killing effect of the killer rays. Yes. 🙂
And this takes us straight back to our curcumin-neem-raspberry study. In this study, pancreatic cancer cells were exposed to radiation, which, as expected, gave a real boost to the already frenzied NF-kappaB activity, with the consequences we have just discussed. However, this extra NF-kB stimulation was compleeeeeeeeetely blocked by our lovely three compounds…curcumin, black raspberry extract and neem leaf extract (CUR, BRE and NLE from now on). Excellent.
Blocked NF-kB —> death for pancreatic cancer cells.
The full study tells us that in the past decade radiotherapy has commonly been used to control the progression of pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest cancers around (let me take a moment to remember my dear, smart, funny blogging friend Lucie who died almost a year ago…). The problem is that pancreatic cancer cells frequently become resistant to treatment…they become stronger and more aggressive. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Eh.
As mentioned above, one of the identified culprits in radioresistance is our old nemesis NF-kappaB, which is overly active in myeloma cells, too. (Note: NF-kB’s hyperactivity is confined to cancer cells, not healthy cells or tissues.) Anyway, as we’ve just seen, this signalling pathway simply lovvvvves radiation (“gimme more, gimme more”!)…and that is very verrrry bad, since it sets in motion a series of mechanisms that protect cancer cells from being zapped into oblivion…As we have seen.
So the point of this study was to find a way to inhibit this extremely wicked pathway safely, without interfering with the killing effect of the rays AND without harming or even killing the patient, either…
Well, CUR, RSE and NLE do exactly that. They significantly inhibit NF-kB that has been turned on big-time by radiation. Safely! Yes, because CUR, RSE and NLE are safe bioactive dietary constituents that can target multiple pathways without causing any undesirable toxicity.
But there is more…
These compounds also potentiate radiosensitization through selective regulation of NF-kB. Aha! So they make radiotherapy work BETTER. How about that? (Well, ok, this didn’t come as a surprise to me…I’ve read and posted about curcumin and radiation before…see: http://margaret.healthblogs.org/life-with-myeloma/discovery-of-curcumin/curcumin-and-radiation-pesticides-and-other-hazards/)
This, by the way, is something we should keep in mind when we are about to have our full skeletal survey, don’t you think?
Skipping past the technical details describing materials and methods and whatnot…we get to the results and the discussion parts. Well, and again, sorry for the repetitions…yes, our three non-toxic extracts were able to block NF-kB while enhancing the effect of the radiotherapy treatment at the same time…thus effectively killing two birds with one stone (=what a terrrrrrible saying!, but I can’t think of a less violent one…).
IMPORTANT NOTE. Even when tested by themselves, as individual substances, these three compounds completely blocked the frenzied high jinks of NF-kB. COMPLETELY. Yay! Excellent!
Incidentally, these authors have already studied how two of these compounds behave in the presence of radiation: CUR and neuroblastoma cells (2008), and BRE and breast cancer cells (2010). This new study therefore confirms their previous findings, that is, that CUR and BRE (and NLE, = the new entry) might be of immense help to patients undergoing this sort of procedure…By the way, the authors are carrying out more in-depth and IN VIVO research in their lab right now. Fingers crossed…
Okay, enough. The picture is clear. And now…for my final comments…
Until someone comes up with a completely non-toxic conventional cancer treatment, I’m 1000% in favour of what is called integrative oncology. I mean, it’s a total OUTRAGE…it’s SHOCKING BEYOND WORDS that we have so many inexpensive non-toxic natural extracts at our fingertips, extracts that could protect our healthy cells while enhancing the toxic killing effects of conventional treatments. Yet these extracts are ignored…in spite of the accumulating evidence…
Yes, I know about big pharma. I know why this isn’t happening. Believe me, I know. First-hand, too. I may not have mentioned this before on my blog, but about a decade ago I taught English to managers in two big pharma companies (both, well-known on an international level) here in Florence. Quelle coincidence, eh? Well, it just so happened that one of these managers, who really liked me, told me a lot…He shouldn’t have, but he did. What I learned makes me sick now, and I wish I could forget everything…or rather, no, I wish I’d asked more questions and taken notes…but back then I was still very naive…meaning, I hadn’t been diagnosed yet with cancer. At any rate, my big pharma “experience” makes me almost 100% certain that things will never change. And they certainly won’t change as long as we, the patients, sit back and do nothing…
Our role is so incredibly CRUCIAL…
What can we do? We can push and shove and get our specialists to DO SOMETHING…We can encourage them to think–and, indeed, ACT!–outside their little boxes. And we can do this by doing, and informing them of, our own research (scientifically-backed only, of course)…and by being as well informed as we can possibly be. We need to ask questions.
Another key thing: we need to learn how to read and interpret our own test results…and realize that one single bad result doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the world…
May this post be yet another wake-up call…for all of us…myself included, of course…
My parents arrived safe and sound yesterday afternoon, yaaaay!, bringing with them cute little kitty gifts, including some adorable catnip “pillows” that are made by a local artist on Cape Cod (MA).
to watch…
omewhat bored. They merely yawned and watched the others roll around and be silly from their safe perch on the dining room table (oh, not that we ever let our cats on the table, eh, mind you…hah, no, of course not, that never happens!!! Uhm, did that sound convincing enough? 😉 ).
but he never let his fur down, so to speak… As for Pinga…well, she seemed completely unaffected. How odd is that! We do sometimes wonder if she REALLY is a cat… 😉
undignified for a lady of her standing…