Xavier University researchers develop new treatment to combat cancer
10th April 2017 · 0 Comments
By Della Hasselle
Contributing Writer
Xavier University of Louisiana has released a new study showing that a recently developed “super cocktail” can have significant impacts in fighting breast cancer.
The study, conducted by the historically Black college, shows that a specific mix of chemicals effectively kills a certain kind of mutated breast cancer cell called BRCA1, without affecting normal cells present in the body.
School officials have described the development as “groundbreaking.”
“Women carrying BRCA1 mutation almost certainly get breast cancer and ovarian cancer, for which there is currently no known treatment other than radical mastectomy followed by chemo and radiation therapy,” officials said in a release issued last week. “Celebrities including Angelina Jolie and other public figures have undergone bilateral mastectomies because they carried this mutation.”
The findings were conducted in the school’s Ireland Lab by researcher Dr. Shubha Ireland, a professor of biology at Xavier.
Dr. Madhwa HG Raj, a professor at LSU Health Sciences, also collaborated on the project, as did Dr. Shailajja Raj, a member of the Metairie-based Protegene Corporation, a company that develops nutritional supplements based on published scientific research.
Specifically, the study shows that the ‘super cocktail’ — a mix of six phytochemicals, or various biologically active compounds found in plants — can kill BRCA1 mutated breast cancer cells and inhibit “tumorosphere” formations in the breast.
A tumor sphere is a solid and spherical formation developed from the proliferation of one cancer stem or originating cell, frequently called a progenitor cell. The three-dimensional spheres are characterized by their ability to self-renew, according to several scientific publications.
In a release issued by Xavier University last week, university officials said the cocktail was able to inhibit the formation of these dangerous cancer cells because it had been achieved at “bioavailable” levels, meaning that the drug was easily absorbed by the body.
Xavier’s findings were built upon previous research conducted in the Ireland Lab and published in the Journal of Cancer in November 2013, according to university officials. In that publication, researchers found that without having adverse effects on normal, non-cancer cells, the cocktail mix of drugs showed 100 killings of triple-negative breast cancer cells.
According to breastcancer.org, a test showing results with triple-negative cancer cells means the cancer’s growth is not supported by the hormones estrogen and progesterone, nor by the presence of too many of a certain kind of hormone receptors.
Ultimately, that means triple-negative breast cancer does not respond to hormonal therapy. About 10 to 20 percent of breast cancers, or more than one out of every 10, are found to be triple-negative.
The results published in 2013, along with genetic and molecular data, were the impetus for development of Breast Safeguard-Susthana, a nutritional supplement, by the Protegene Corporation, according to Xavier officials.
The data was presented at the meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research on April 4 in Washington D.C.
The super cocktail studied was developed to simultaneously inhibit characteristics common to several cancers, namely cell proliferation to form tumors, cell survival by immortalization and metastasis resulting in spreading of the cancer to other organs.
Students at Xavier are currently working on studies showing that the mix of drugs also works against prostate and lung cancer cells, in addition to the hormone-sensitive triple negative and BRCA1 mutated human breast cancer cells, school officials said.
In all studies, the super cocktail is unleashing ‘programmed cell death,’ also called apoptosis, in the cancer cells specifically, without affecting normal, non-cancerous cells.
More than 750 women with and without breast cancer have used the super cocktail without reporting adverse reactions or side effects, according to the release.
The ongoing research is funded by The Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium and Ireland’s Xavier Eminent Scholar XXXVIII Professorship through the Louisiana Board of Regents funding.
Founded in 1925 by Saint Katharine Drexel and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, Xavier University of Louisiana is the only Catholic and historically Black higher education institution in North America.
The ultimate purpose of the school is to “contribute to the promotion of a more just and humane society by preparing its students to assume roles of leadership and service in a global society,” according to university officials.
The university also sends more African-American students to medical school than any other college in the country, officials said.
This article originally published in the April 10, 2017 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
