Bosbessen
tegen borstkanker*
Uit een Amerikaanse studie weliswaar met muizen blijkt dat een dieet met blauwe bosbessen
de groei van borstkanker en
uitzaaiingen flink kan tegengaan. De speciale muizen hadden een agressieve vorm
van borstkanker en dagelijkse aanvulling van het dieet met bosbessenpoeder had
tot gevolg dat de tumor verkleind werd met 60 tot 75 procent en werden
uitzaaiingen stopgezet. De hoeveelheid bosbessenpoeder die gebruikt werden in de
studie is vergelijkbaar met dagelijks 2 koppen blauwe (bos)bessen voor een
vrouw.
New study bolsters findings that super food may offer new breast cancer option
Results of a recent study build further evidence for the cancer-fighting power
of blueberries. The so-called “super food” showed significant activity
against breast tumors, according to City of Hope scientists who reported their
research in the October issue of The Journal of Nutrition.
Blueberries have long been deemed a potent part of the diet because of the
brightly colored compounds called flavonoids and proanthocyanidins they contain.
Previous studies have shown that these compounds can affect growth and death in
healthy cells as well as fight damaging chemical byproducts called free radicals.
Scientists have speculated that these abilities might mean the compounds could
be effective against cancer cells.
Shiuan Chen, Ph.D., director of the Division of Tumor Cell Biology at City of
Hope and senior author on the paper, has shown in past studies that blueberry
juice could inhibit cancer cell survival and growth in the lab.
The latest research went one step further and tested concentrated blueberry
powder against aggressive cancer cells in mice.
Chen and the team performed two studies. In the first study, the scientists fed
three groups of mice a diet that contained either no blueberry powder, low
levels of blueberry powder or high levels of it.
They found that tumor size decreased significantly in mice fed blueberry powder
compared to similar mice that ate no blueberry. Importantly, molecular analysis
showed that blueberry consumption altered expression of genes important to
inflammation, cancer and metastasis (spread of cancer) in ways that would lower
cancer risk.
The second study compared cancer metastasis among mice fed blueberry to
metastasis in mice that ate no blueberry. The results jibed with the first study,
showing a significant decrease in metastasis in mice that ate blueberry powder
compared to those that did not.
“The results show that, at least in mice, blueberry consumption can greatly
reduce the growth and spread of an aggressive form of breast cancer,” said
Chen. This is especially important because few drugs are effective against
so-called “triple-negative” breast cancer — the particular type of breast
cancer the researchers studied, according to the team. Triple negative breast
cancers do not respond to common hormone therapies or to the powerful drug
Herceptin.
“And what’s really exciting is that the amount of blueberry powder we used
is one that could reasonably be consumed by women,” Chen added. “It’s
equivalent to about two cups of fresh blueberries per day.”
The team cautioned that more research is needed to confirm the effect in humans.
Other researchers on the study include first author Lynn Adams, Ph.D., Noriko
Kanaya, Ph.D., Sheryl Phung and Zheng Liu, Ph.D.
The study was funded by the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council and the National
Institutes of Health.
Whole Blueberry Powder Modulates the Growth and Metastasis of MDA-MB-231 Triple
Negative Breast Tumors in Nude Mice1,2,3
1. Lynn S. Adams,
2. Noriko Kanaya,
3. Sheryl Phung,
4. Zheng Liu, and
5. Shiuan Chen*
+ Author Affiliations
1. Division of Tumor Cell Biology, Beckman Research Institute of the City of
Hope, Duarte, CA
1. ↵*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: schen@coh.org.
Abstract
Previous studies in our laboratory demonstrated that blueberry (BB) extract
exhibited antitumor activity against MDA-MB-231 triple negative breast cancer (TNBC)
cells and decreased metastatic potential in vitro. The current study tested 2
doses of whole BB powder, 5 and 10% (wt:wt) in the diet, against MDA-MB-231
tumor growth in female nude mice. In this study, tumor volume was 75% lower in
mice fed the 5% BB diet and 60% lower in mice fed the 10% BB diet than in
control mice (P ≤ 0.05). Tumor cell proliferation (Ki-67) was lower in the
5 and 10% BB-fed mice and cell death (Caspase 3) was greater in the 10% BB-fed
mice compared to control mice (P ≤ 0.05). Gene analysis of tumor tissues
from the 5% BB-fed mice revealed significantly altered expression of genes
important to inflammation, cancer, and metastasis, specifically, Wnt signaling,
thrombospondin-2, IL-13, and IFNγ. To confirm effects on Wnt signaling,
analysis of tumor tissues from 5% BB-fed mice revealed lower β-catenin
expression and glycogen synthase kinase-3β phosphorylation with greater
expression of the β-catenin inhibitory protein adenomatous polyposis coli
compared to controls. A second study tested the ability of the 5% BB diet to
inhibit MDA-MB-231-luc-D3H2LN metastasis in vivo. In this study, 5% BB-fed mice
developed 70% fewer liver metastases (P = 0.04) and 25% fewer lymph node
metastases (P = 0.09) compared to control mice. This study demonstrates the oral
antitumor and metastasis activity of whole BB powder against TNBC in mice. (September 2011)
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