apoptosis – Page 2 – Oral Cancer News

Marked inhibition of growth and invasive parameters of head and neck squamous carcinoma FaDu by a nutrient mixture

Source: ict.sagepub.com Author: M.W. Roomi, PhD et al. Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) are known for their aggressive growth and propensity to metastasize. The authors investigated the effect of a novel nutrient mixture (NM) containing ascorbic acid, lysine, proline, and green tea extract on human HNSCC cell line FaDu in vivo and in vitro. Athymic male nude mice (n = 12) were inoculated with 3 x 106 FaDu cells subcutaneously and randomly divided into 2 groups: group A was fed a regular diet and group B a regular diet supplemented with 0.5% NM. Four weeks later, the mice were sacrificed and their tumors were excised, weighted, and processed for histology. In vitro, FaDu cells were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium and exposed to NM at 0 to 1000 µg/mL in triplicate. Cell proliferation was assessed by MTT assay, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) secretion by gelatinase zymography, invasion through Matrigel, apoptosis by live-green caspases, and cell morphology by hematoxylin—eosin staining. NM inhibited the growth of tumors by 55% (P = .0002) and exhibited dose-dependent toxicity on FaDu cells in vitro, with 53% (P = .0003) at 1000 µg/mL NM. Zymography revealed MMP-2 and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate—induced MMP-9 secretion. NM inhibited secretion of both MMPs in a dose-dependent manner, with virtual total inhibition at 1000 µg/mL. NM significantly inhibited FaDu invasion through Matrigel with total block at 1000 µg/mL. NM induced dose-dependent apoptosis. In conclusion, NM has therapeutic potential in the treatment of HNSCC by significantly suppressing tumor growth and [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-08-14T11:17:53-07:00August, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Monoclonal Antibody Drugs for Cancer Treatment

Source: www.newswise.com Author: staff The strategy of using monoclonal antibodies for cancer treatment was first described in the late 1970s with the promise that they could be developed into therapies that were highly specific to cancer cells, killing them with few or no side effects. For several types of cancer, monoclonal antibodies have already offered this advantage to patients. For other cancer types, they have provided an additional therapeutic weapon, but with smaller benefits and sometimes new side effects. "The first efforts for monoclonal antibody cancer therapy were to find antibodies that would home in on tumors and bind to proteins on the surface of cancer cells," explained physician-scientist David A. Scheinberg. "We looked for unique proteins that were specific only to cancer cells. The idea was that the antibody would be used to stimulate an immune response in the body, which would kill the cancer cell." Dr. Scheinberg, who is Chair of Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Experimental Therapeutics Center and the Molecular Pharmacology and Chemistry Program within the Sloan-Kettering Institute, developed an antibody called M195, which targets a protein on leukemia cells, when working as a research fellow in collaboration with Memorial Sloan-Kettering immunologist Lloyd Old in the 1980s. This approach further evolved when researchers realized they could use the antibody as a carrier to deliver a radioactive isotope or a toxic drug directly to the cancer cell, where it would kill the cell while sparing nearby healthy tissue. Antibodies are proteins that help the immune system to identify foreign substances [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-04-05T11:28:05-07:00April, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Chemopreventive agents in black raspberries identified

Source: news.biocompare.com Author: staff A study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, identifies components of black raspberries with chemopreventive potential. Researchers at the Ohio State Comprehensive Cancer Center found that anthocyanins, a class of flavonoids in black raspberries, inhibited growth and stimulated apoptosis in the esophagus of rats treated with an esophageal carcinogen. "Our data provide strong evidence that anthocyanins are important for cancer prevention," said the study's lead author, Gary D. Stoner, Ph.D., a professor in the department of internal medicine at Ohio State University. Stoner and his team of researchers fed rats an anthocyanin-rich extract of black raspberries and found that the extract was nearly as effective in preventing esophageal cancer in rats as whole black raspberries containing the same concentration of anthocyanins. This study demonstrates the importance of anthocyanins as preventive agents in black raspberries and validated similar in vitro findings. It is among the first to look at the correlation between anthocyanins and cancer prevention in vivo. Stoner and his colleagues have conducted clinical trials using whole berry powder, which has yielded some promising results, but required patients to take up to 60 grams of powder a day. "Now that we know the anthocyanins in berries are almost as active as whole berries themselves, we hope to be able to prevent cancer in humans using a standardized mixture of anthocyanins," said Stoner. "The goal is to potentially replace whole berry powder with its active components and then figure [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-01-15T08:29:19-07:00January, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Cranberry and grape seed extracts inhibit the proliferative phenotype of oral squamous cell carcinomas

Source: Evid. Based Complement. Altern. Med., July 23, 2008 Authors: Kourt Chatelain et al. Proanthocyanidins, compounds highly concentrated in dietary fruits, such as cranberries and grapes, demonstrate significant cancer prevention potential against many types of cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate cranberry and grape seed extracts to quantitate and compare their anti-proliferative effects on the most common type of oral cancer, oral squamous cell carcinoma. Using two well-characterized oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines, CAL27 and SCC25, assays were performed to evaluate the effects of cranberry and grape seed extract on phenotypic behaviors of these oral cancers. The proliferation of both oral cancer cell lines was significantly inhibited by the administration of cranberry and grape seed extracts, in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, key regulators of apoptosis, caspase-2 and caspase-8, were concomitantly up-regulated by these treatments. However, cranberry and grape seed extracts elicited differential effects on cell adhesion, cell morphology, and cell cycle regulatory pathways. This study represents one of the first comparative investigations of cranberry and grape seed extracts and their anti-proliferative effects on oral cancers. Previous findings using purified proanthocyanidin from grape seed extract demonstrated more prominent growth inhibition, as well as apoptosis-inducing, properties on CAL27 cells. These observations provide evidence that cranberry and grape seed extracts not only inhibit oral cancer proliferation but also that the mechanism of this inhibition may function by triggering key apoptotic regulators in these cell lines. This information will be of benefit to researchers interested in elucidating which dietary [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2008-11-03T09:42:11-07:00November, 2008|Oral Cancer News|

Cranberry and Grape Seed Extracts Inhibit the Proliferative Phenotype of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinomas

Source: eCAM Advance Access published online on July 23, 2008 Author: Kourt Chatelain et al. Proanthocyanidins, compounds highly concentrated in dietary fruits, such as cranberries and grapes, demonstrate significant cancer prevention potential against many types of cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate cranberry and grape seed extracts to quantitate and compare their anti-proliferative effects on the most common type of oral cancer, oral squamous cell carcinoma. Using two well-characterized oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines, CAL27 and SCC25, assays were performed to evaluate the effects of cranberry and grape seed extract on phenotypic behaviors of these oral cancers. The proliferation of both oral cancer cell lines was significantly inhibited by the administration of cranberry and grape seed extracts, in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, key regulators of apoptosis, caspase-2 and caspase-8, were concomitantly up-regulated by these treatments. However, cranberry and grape seed extracts elicited differential effects on cell adhesion, cell morphology, and cell cycle regulatory pathways. This study represents one of the first comparative investigations of cranberry and grape seed extracts and their anti-proliferative effects on oral cancers. Previous findings using purified proanthocyanidin from grape seed extract demonstrated more prominent growth inhibition, as well as apoptosis-inducing, properties on CAL27 cells. These observations provide evidence that cranberry and grape seed extracts not only inhibit oral cancer proliferation but also that the mechanism of this inhibition may function by triggering key apoptotic regulators in these cell lines. This information will be of benefit to researchers interested in elucidating which [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2008-07-23T07:34:29-07:00July, 2008|Oral Cancer News|