·

Cancer breakthrough: Grape seed extract kills colorectal cancer cells

cancer-breakthrough-grape-seed-extract-kills-colorectal-cancer-cells

Cancer researchers are working to find chemotherapies that destroy cancer cells but are harmless to normal cells. It turns out, a natural substance already exists that does just that. University of Colorado Cancer Center scientists have just published a study in the journal Cancer Letters that shows grape seed extract (GSE) is a powerful weapon against colorectal cancer. It halts the growth and survival of colorectal cancer cells and kills them in large numbers, too, while leaving healthy cells completely alone.

And the news about GSE gets better: the more advanced the colorectal cancer cells, the more GSE shuts down the malignant cells’ growth and survival. The scientists think that GSE targets colorectal cancer by causing oxidative stress that leads to the programmed cell death known as apoptosis.

“We’ve known for quite a while that the bioactive compounds in grape seed extract selectively target many types of cancer cells. This study shows that many of the same mutations that allow colorectal cancer cells to metastasize and survive traditional therapies make them especially sensitive to treatment with GSE,” Molly Derry, doctoral candidate in the lab of Rajesh Agarwal, PhD, investigator at the CU Cancer Center and professor at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, said in a press statement.

Derry pointed out that the GSE findings are especially important due to the increasing rates of colorectal cancer. Unfortunately, 60 percent of patients diagnosed with this form of cancer have already reached the advanced stage of the disease.

As the research team performed their experiments on colorectal cancer cell lines representing all stages of the disease, they came up with another startling finding. Although it usually takes much more chemotherapy to kill a stage IV cancer cell than a stage II cancer cell, the exact opposite was true when it came to grape seed extract.

“It required less than half the concentration of GSE to suppress cell growth and kill 50 percent of stage IV cells than it did to achieve similar results in the stage II cells,” Derry revealed in a media statement.

“A colorectal cancer cell can have upwards of 11,000 genetic mutations — differences from the DNA in healthy cells. Traditional chemotherapies may only target a specific mutation and as cancer progresses more mutations occur. These changes can result in cancer that is resistance to chemotherapy. In contrast, the many bioactive compounds of GSE are able to target multiple mutations. The more mutations a cancer presents, the more effective GSE is in targeting them,” Derry added.

The Agarwal Lab studies the effectiveness and action of dietary compounds against cancer and is encouraging further exploration of their findings in clinical settings with patients. “Finding a way to selectively target advanced colorectal cancer cells could have major clinical importance,” Derry stated.

As NaturalNews previously reported, researchers from the University of Kentucky have also conducted groundbreaking research into the anti-cancer properties of grape seed extract. They found the natural substance triggered the death of 76 percent of leukemia cells exposed to the extract in a laboratory experiment. Their study, published Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, showed that grape seed extract triggered the destruction of leukemia cells by apparently “turning on” a protein known as JNK that regulates the cancer cell killing pathway.

Sources:

http://www.cancerletters.info/article/S0304-3835(12)00732-X/abstract
http://www.coloradocancerblogs.org
http://www.naturalnews.com
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030438351200732X

About the author:
Sherry Baker is a widely published writer whose work has appeared in Newsweek, Health, the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, Yoga Journal, Optometry, Atlanta, Arthritis Today, Natural Healing Newsletter, OMNI, UCLA’s “Healthy Years” newsletter, Mount Sinai School of Medicine’s “Focus on Health Aging” newsletter, the Cleveland Clinic’s “Men’s Health Advisor” newsletter and many others.

Source: NaturalNews
By Sherry Baker, Health Sciences Editor

Featured image:  James LeeCC BY 2.0

Share:

Commenting rules and guidelines

We value the thoughts and opinions of our readers and welcome healthy discussions on our website. In order to maintain a respectful and positive community, we ask that all commenters follow these rules:

  • Treat others with kindness and respect.
  • Stay on topic and contribute to the conversation in a meaningful way.
  • Do not use abusive or hateful language.
  • Do not spam or promote unrelated products or services.
  • Do not post any personal information or content that is illegal, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these rules. By commenting on our website, you agree to abide by these guidelines. Thank you for helping to create a positive and welcoming environment for all.

5 Comments

  1. Hmm, now to tell us what our ancestors have already said!
    It is interesting how the truth can be distorted…One word omitted can change everything – and later probably blamed on the publisher! Also interesting how ‘they’ have already started with the letter lable – GSE.
    Expect the price to skyrocket soon, no doubt.

  2. this is totally totally wrong. it is NOT ‘grape seed extract,’ it is grapeFRUIT seed extract. HUGE DIFFERENCE. grape seed is generally found as an oil for therapeutic purposes, which are NOT the same as GSE. i have been using GSE (GrapeFRUIT Seed Extract) for decades for all kinds of infection, staph, mrsa, etc.

    1. Julie Generic, within the article the link is provided to the University of Colorado Cancer Center published study… Unless you are suggesting that the 4 scientists who affixed their names to the study all erroneously stated the name of the extract that they studied… you should reconsider your comment.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *