SEP 27: The juice of the pomegranate, say researchers at University of
Wisconsin Medical School, shows major promise to combat prostate
cancer - the most common invasive cancer and the second-leading
cause of cancer deaths in American men.
"Our study adds to growing evidence that pomegranates contain very
powerful agents against cancer, particularly prostate cancer," says
lead author Dr Hasan Mukhtar, professor of dermatology at the
Medical School. "There is good reason now to test this fruit in
humans - both for cancer prevention and for treatment."
Earlier
research at Wisconsin and elsewhere has shown that the pomegranate,
a fruit native to the Middle East, is rich in anti-oxidant and
anti-inflammatory activity and is effective against tumors in mouse
skin.
In fact, pomegranate juice has higher anti-oxidant activity than red
wine and green tea.
Using human prostate cancer cells, the team first evaluated the
fruit extract's effect, at various doses, on those cells cultured in
laboratory dishes. They found a "dose-dependent" effect - the higher
the dose of pomegranate extract the cells received, the more cells
died.
The research team then progressed to tests in mice that had been
injected with prostate cancer cells from humans and developed
malignancies. Mice receiving higher concentration of pomegranate
extract showed significant slowing of their cancer progression and a
decrease in the levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a marker
used to indicate the presence of prostate cancer in humans.
As for whether pomegranate juice could be recommended to men with
prostate cancer, Mukhtar told Reuters Health: "Based on the data we
have it's highly unlikely that it will produce any adverse effects
and it is highly possible that it will produce useful effects."
Moreover, he added, since his group has also shown that pomegranate
extract inhibits skin cancer growth, it is possible that the juice
would be of benefit in many types of cancer.
With more than
230,000 new cases of prostate cancer expected to be diagnosed this
year alone in the U.S. and the outlook poor for patients with
metastatic disease, researchers are looking for new strategies to
combat the disease.
(DesPardes News Monitor)
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