A blend of six natural compounds found in vegetable, fruits, spices and plant roots can kill breast cancer cells without affecting normal cells, researchers at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center write in their latest study.
The researchers found that the super cocktail eliminated 100 percent of sample breast cancer cells. "One of the primary causes of both the recurrence of breast cancer and deaths is a small group of cancer stem cells that evade therapy," said Madhwa Raj, Research Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology at LSUHSC.
"These often multi-drug-resistant cells have the ability to generate new tumours, so it is critically important to develop new approaches to more effective and safer treatment or prevention of breast cancer," Raj explained in a press note.
The researchers arrived at the finding after they tested 10 known protective chemical nutrients found in foods like broccoli, grapes, apples, tofu, and turmeric root (a spice used in Indian curry). They found that natural compounds found in turmeric, soybeans, plant roots and fruits were effective.
They further tested these compounds, individually and in combination, on breast cancer and control cells. The researchers found that the compounds were ineffective individually, but when blended, these nutrients suppressed breast cancer cell growth by more than 80 percent, inhibited migration and invasion, caused cell cycle arrest, and triggered the process leading to cell death resulting in 100 percent cancer cell deaths.
The mixture of these six natural compounds was not tested against BRCA1 and BRAC2. Past studies show that they are molecular targets of four of the six compounds, the researchers wrote in the study.
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute's SEER Program. The statistics released by the institute state that this year an estimated 232,340 new cases and 39,620 deaths will be reported. Figures show that around 2,829,041 American women suffer from breast cancer.
