Tree Extract Shows Promise In Fighting Cancer WESTPORT, CT Sep 25, 2001 (Reuters Health) - The Australian desert tree contains biologically active chemicals, known as avicins, that demonstrate anticancer properties, according to two reports in the September 25th issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Jordan U. Gutterman, from the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and colleagues studied the protective effects of avicins in a murine model of skin cancer. Prior to being challenged with chemical carcinogens, some of the mice were treated with avicins, while others were not. Avicin-treated mice were 70% less likely to develop premalignant lesions than untreated mice, the authors report. Furthermore, the avicin-treated mice that did develop lesions had 90% fewer than untreated mice. Genetic analysis revealed that avicin treatment was associated with a significant reduction in H-ras mutations. In another study, Dr. Gutterman's team investigated the effects of avicins on nuclear transcription factor-kappa-B (NF-kappa-B), which can inhibit apoptosis and promote carcinogenesis in its constantly active state. The researchers found that avicins were potent inhibitors of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-induced activation of NF-kappa-B in a human T-cell leukemia line. The avicins achieved this effect by inhibiting the nuclear localization of NF-kappa-B and by reducing the ability of NF-kappa-B to bind DNA. Treatment with a single molecular species, known as avicin G, led to "decreased expression of NF-kappa-B-regulated proteins such as inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2," the investigators note. "The avicins may prove important for reducing both oxidative and nitrosative cellular stress and thereby suppressing the development of malignancies and related diseases," the authors believe. In a related editorial, Dr. Carlo M. Croce, from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, comments on methods of preventing cancer. "We can prevent cancer by eliminating substances that cause cancer," Dr. Croce writes. "We also can exploit natural products and chemicals that can prevent oxidative and nitrosative stresses as those described" in the current articles, he adds. "Some of these products also may be able to produce apoptotic death of the precancerous and cancer cells." SOURCE: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 2001;98:10986-10988,11551-11562. Reuters from Cancerpage.com Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.