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Tiny fat bubbles loaded with a popular curry ingredient may help fight colon cancer.
Curcumin,
the yellow pigment of turmeric – a plant from the ginger family often
used to give curry its colouring – has been shown to slow the growth and
spread of some cancers in early studies.
It has even been shown to
kill various types of cancer cells in laboratory dishes. Furthermore, a
study at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich found that the
spice can boost the effectiveness of chemotherapy and make it better at
killing bowel cancer cells.
While curcumin is not easily absorbed by cells in the colon, the bubbles are
However, scientists’ efforts to turn
curcumin into a treatment have been hampered by problems getting enough
of the spice to the tumours. Curcumin is hard for the body to absorb, so
very big doses must be taken for even small amounts to reach the colon.
Previous clinical trials at the University of California, with
standard curcumin supplements or pills, have shown that in some cases
less than a quarter of the dose gets to the target.
Now, cancer
specialists have developed a new way to get curcumin to where it is
needed using exosomes – bubbles of fat – found in fruit plants.
Identified
only a few decades ago, exosomes are structures within almost all types
of cells that measure only 50 to 100 nanometers – about the size of the
particles that make up smoke.
What is so attractive about exosomes
to the scientists trying to turn curcumin into a viable treatment is
that they have evolved to move and shuttle material between cells. Now
researchers at the James Graham Brown Cancer Center in the U.S. are
testing whether exosomes taken from fruit plants can be used to deliver
the curcumin to tumours in the colon.
Curcumin, an active
ingredient found in turmeric, has
been linked with a range of
potential health benefits
While curcumin is not easily
absorbed by cells in the colon, the bubbles are. So wrapping the two
together means the bubbles transport the curcumin into the colon tissue
where it can attack the cancer. Scientists have developed a way to get
the curcumin to stick to the fat bubbles by spinning them together in a
centrifuge. The next step is to compare this method with other forms of
delivering curcumin.
In the forthcoming trial, 35 people newly
diagnosed with colon cancer who are scheduled for surgery will take
curcumin daily for seven days in an oral supplement. One group will have
curcumin mixed with plant exosomes, one with curcumin alone, and the
third will have no treatment.
The effects on the three groups will
then be compared. When the tumours are surgically removed one week
after treatment, doctors will compare the concentration of curcumin in
normal and cancerous tissue in patients from the groups.
Both fruit
exosomes and curcumin are unlikely to generate any side-effects because
they are consumed daily by millions of people.
Dr Emma Smith, senior
science information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: ‘This clinical
trial is at an early stage and must establish that this new technology
is a safe way for people to be given curcumin. Clinical trials are still
ongoing, and it will be interesting to see if this new way of
delivering it directly to the tumour increases its potency.’
Meanwhile, a new vaccine is being tested that could help to prevent colon cancer.
The jab will prime the immune system to fight polyps, benign growths in the colon, which can turn into cancer over time.
Colon
cancer takes years to develop and usually starts with a polyp, an
abnormal growth in the intestinal lining. Although polyps can be
removed, around 30 to 40??per cent of patients will develop a new one
within three years.
The vaccine – MUC1 peptide- poly-ICLC – is being
given to patients with newly diagnosed advanced colon polyps in a trial
at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and other centres to
see if it prevents them from developing polyps in the future.
The vaccine targets a type of protein called MUC1, which encourages the growth of polyps and cancerous tumours.
Researchers say the vaccine could benefit those at high risk of colon cancer.
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