OT - News For Chemo Patients

Cancer Patients' Response To Chemotherapy Improved By Eating Fruit And
Vegetables
Article Date: 23 Oct 2008 - 2:00 PDT

The leading cause of death in all cancer patients continues to be the
resistance of tumor cells to chemotherapy, a form of treatment in
which chemicals are used to kill cells.

Now a study by UC Riverside biochemists that focuses on cancer cells
reports that ingesting apigenin - a naturally occurring dietary agent
found in vegetables and fruit - improves cancer cells' response to
chemotherapy.

Xuan Liu, a professor of biochemistry, and Xin Cai, a postdoctoral
researcher working in her lab, found that apigenin localizes tumor
suppressor p53, a protein, in the cell nucleus - a necessary step for
killing the cell that results in some tumor cells responding to
chemotherapy.

The study, published this week in the online early edition of the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides a novel
approach to conquer tumor resistance to chemotherapy, and suggests an
avenue for developing safe chemotherapy via naturally occurring
agents.

Normally, cells have low levels of p53 diffused in their cytoplasm and
nucleus. When DNA in the nucleus is damaged, p53 moves to the nucleus
where it activates genes that stop cell growth and cause cell death.
In this way, p53 ensures that cells with damaged DNA are killed.

In many cancers, p53 is rendered inactive by a process called
cytoplasmic sequestration. Apigenin is able to activate p53 and
transport it into the nucleus, resulting in a stop to cell growth and
cell death.

"In therapy you want to kill cancer cells," explained Cai, the first
author of the research paper. "But to stop cell growth and to kill the
cell, p53 first needs to be moved to the cell's nucleus to function.
Apigenin is very effective in localizing p53 this way."

Apigenin is mainly found in fruit (including apples, cherries,
grapes), vegetables (including parsley, artichoke, basil, celery),
nuts and plant-derived beverages (including tea and wine). It has been
shown by researchers to have growth inhibitory properties in several
cancer lines, including breast, colon, skin, thyroid and leukemia
cells. It has also been shown to inhibit pancreatic cancer cell
proliferation.

"Our study advocates the inclusion of vegetables and fruit in our
daily diet to help prevent cancer," said Liu, the research paper's
coauthor.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
----------------------------

The National Institutes of Health supported the five-year study.

Next in their research Liu and Cai plan to design therapies for cancer
by finding compounds that are like, but perform better than,
apigenin.

Source: Iqbal Pittalwala
University of California - Riverside


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