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Synthetic cocoa chemical slows growth of tumors in human
cell lines 6-15-08
Washington, D.C. – A synthetic chemical based on a compound found in cocoa beans
slowed growth and accelerated destruction of human tumors in laboratory studies,
and should be tested further for cancer chemoprevention or even treatment, say
researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center.
"We have all heard that eating chocolate is good for you; this study suggests
one reason why that might be true," says the study's lead author Min Kim, Ph.D.,
a research scientist in the Department of Oncology at Lombardi Comprehensive
Cancer Center.
Published online today in Cell Cycle, the researchers describe how four
different human tumor cells lines out of 16 tested were sensitive to the
chemical, known as GECGC. The strongest response was seen in two different colon
cancers; growth was cut in half and most of the tumor cells were damaged.
Normal cells were not affected by GECGC, which makes the chemical a candidate
for cancer chemoprevention, says Kim.
"This chemical seems to be safe, which makes sense because it has a structure
similar to a natural product in cocoa beans - the same beans that are used to
make chocolate," he says.
The researchers have long studied the beneficial effects of flavanols, which are
molecules in vegetables and fruits that exhibit potent anti-oxidant and,
potentially, anti-tumor properties. As part of these studies, investigators have
been testing a new synthetic version of natural procyanidins, a class of
flavanols, created and patented by the confectionery company, Mars Incorporated.
(The company provided GECGC as a gift, and this project was funded in part by
Mars Incorporated.)
In these studies, the scientists tested the effects of three different doses of
GECGC on the cancer cell lines - the first time that a synthetic cocoa
derivative has been used to screen human cancer cell lines. None of the doses
tested were extreme, Kim points out. "The effective concentrations were
considered similar to what a person might eat or use," he says.
They found sensitivity to GECGC in both colon cancer cell lines they tested, in
cervical cancer cells and in one line of leukemia, tumor cells. Other cell lines
were resistant, including ovarian and prostate cancer cells.
Overall, GECGC showed the most effect in treating cancer cells that are normally
fast growing, Kim says. And the fact that it demonstrated the most killing power
in colon cancer suggests the chemical "could serve as a promising therapeutic
for colon cancer," he says. "So far, these data are very convincing."
The researchers do not yet clearly understand the mechanism by which GECGC
disrupts tumor growth, but they think it inhibits the physical connections
between cancer cells and blocks internal cell signaling pathways.
Kim says that animal studies testing the anticancer power of GECGC are currently
underway. "While this work is indeed promising, we have much more study to do
before we can say with authority that GECGC has anticancer properties."
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