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A spicy solution for colon cancer?
September 20, 2006GALVESTON, Texas - Looking for a cancer cure? Try the spice rack.
In the last few years, that tactic has proved productive for researchers investigating turmeric, a curry spice used for centuries in Indian traditional medicine.
They've found that turmeric's active ingredient, curcumin, works in the lab to fight skin, breast and other tumor cells. In fact, human clinical trials employing curcumin have already been launched.
Now, working with cell cultures in a laboratory, scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) have discovered that curcumin blocks the activity of a gastrointestinal hormone implicated in the development of colorectal cancer, the country's second leading cancer killer with nearly 60,000 deaths annually. In a paper published in the current issue of Clinical Cancer Research, the UTMB researchers link the gastrointestinal hormone neurotensin, which is generated in response to fat consumption, to the production of IL-8, a potent inflammatory protein that accelerates the growth and spread of a variety of human cancer cells, including colorectal and pancreatic tumor cells.
"We found that in colon cancer cells, neurotensin increases not just the rate of growth but also other critical things, including cell migration and metastasis," said UTMB surgery professor B. Mark Evers, senior author of the article and director of UTMB's Sealy Center for Cancer Cell Biology. "The fact that all that can be turned off by this natural product, curcumin, was really remarkable."
Evers' group, including lead author and UTMB research associate Xiaofu Wang, probed curcumin's effect on the process by which neurotensin stimulates colon cancer cells to generate IL-8 in detail.
Neurotensin's influence, they found, depends on biochemical signaling pathways inside the cell. Their experiments showed that curcumin damped down those signals, reducing the production of IL-8. Experiments also showed that neurotensin increased the migration of colorectal cancer cells, and that curcumin could suppress this migration - possibly reducing the ability of colorectal cancer to spread to other locations in the body.
"Our findings suggest that curcumin may be useful for colon cancer treatment, as well as potential colon cancer suppression, in cells that respond to this gastrointestinal hormone, neurotensin," Evers said. "About a third of all colorectal cancer cells have the receptor for neurotensin. Thus, the concept would be sort of like what we do for breast and prostate cancer, where the main therapy involves blocking hormones. We hope to do similar things with gastrointestinal cancers that respond to this hormone."
University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
Now, working with cell cultures in a laboratory, scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) have discovered that curcumin blocks the activity of a gastrointestinal hormone implicated in the development of colorectal cancer, the country's second leading cancer killer with nearly 60,000 deaths annually. In a paper published in the current issue of Clinical Cancer Research, the UTMB researchers link the gastrointestinal hormone neurotensin, which is generated in response to fat consumption, to the production of IL-8, a potent inflammatory protein that accelerates the growth and spread of a variety of human cancer cells, including colorectal and pancreatic tumor cells.
"We found that in colon cancer cells, neurotensin increases not just the rate of growth but also other critical things, including cell migration and metastasis," said UTMB surgery professor B. Mark Evers, senior author of the article and director of UTMB's Sealy Center for Cancer Cell Biology. "The fact that all that can be turned off by this natural product, curcumin, was really remarkable."
Evers' group, including lead author and UTMB research associate Xiaofu Wang, probed curcumin's effect on the process by which neurotensin stimulates colon cancer cells to generate IL-8 in detail.
Neurotensin's influence, they found, depends on biochemical signaling pathways inside the cell. Their experiments showed that curcumin damped down those signals, reducing the production of IL-8. Experiments also showed that neurotensin increased the migration of colorectal cancer cells, and that curcumin could suppress this migration - possibly reducing the ability of colorectal cancer to spread to other locations in the body.
"Our findings suggest that curcumin may be useful for colon cancer treatment, as well as potential colon cancer suppression, in cells that respond to this gastrointestinal hormone, neurotensin," Evers said. "About a third of all colorectal cancer cells have the receptor for neurotensin. Thus, the concept would be sort of like what we do for breast and prostate cancer, where the main therapy involves blocking hormones. We hope to do similar things with gastrointestinal cancers that respond to this hormone."
University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
Colon Cancer Current Events and Colon Cancer News RSSOther Illnesses, Body Weight Do Not Explain Racial Disparities in Colon Cancer Survival, UAB Researchers Say
A new study by University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) researchers shows that body-mass index (BMI) and co-existing medical conditions (co-morbidity) do not explain the decreased survival observed among African-Americans compared to Caucasians who also have colon cancer.
Paradoxical protein might prevent cancer
One difficulty with fighting cancer cells is that they are similar in many respects to the body's stem cells. By focusing on the differences, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have found a new way of tackling colon cancer. The study is presented in the prestigious journal Cell.
Coffee break: Compound brewing new research in colon, breast cancer
A compound in coffee has been found to be estrogenic in studies by Texas AgriLife Research scientists.
Curry-cure? Spicing up the effectiveness of a potential disease-fighter
Scientists are reporting development of a nano-size capsule that boosts the body's uptake of curcumin, an ingredient in yellow curry now being evaluated in clinical trials for treatment of several diseases.
Colon cancer screening more effective earlier in day, UCLA study finds
The effectiveness of a screening colonoscopy may depend on the time of day it is performed. According to a new UCLA study, early-morning colonoscopies yielded more polyps per patient than later screenings, and fewer polyps were found hour by hour as the day progressed.
Study shows hormone replacement therapy decreases mortality in younger postmenopausal woman
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to treat menopausal estrogen deficiency has been in widespread use for over 60 years. Several observational studies over the years showed that HRT use by younger postmenopausal women was associated with a significant reduction in total mortality; available evidence supported the routine use of HRT to increase longevity in postmenopausal women.
Experts issue call to reconsider screening for breast cancer and prostate cancer
Twenty years of screening for breast and prostate cancer - the most diagnosed cancer for women and men - have not brought the anticipated decline in deaths from these diseases, argue experts from the University of California, San Francisco and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in an opinion piece published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association."
Metals could forge new cancer drug
Drugs made using unusual metals could form an effective treatment against colon and ovarian cancer, including cancerous cells that have developed immunity to other drugs, according to research at the University of Warwick and the University of Leeds.
New data: Hospital imaging centers poised to pull back, hitting patients hardest in rural areas
Survivors and patients with cancers and heart disease, along with patient advocate organizations and physicians, today urged policymakers to enhance early diagnosis of deadly diseases by preserving access to advanced imaging, such as MRI and CT scans, in final health care reform legislation.
Whole-brain radiotherapy after surgery or radiosurgery not recommended for brain metastases
Whole-brain radiotherapy should not be given routinely to all patients whose cancer has spread to the brain, say researchers who found that using it after surgery or radiosurgery in patients with a limited number of brain metastases and stable cancer in the rest of the body did not extend lives or help patients remain functionally independent for longer.
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