Soursop - Cancer-Fighting Super Fruit Stuns Scientists

 A tropical fruit that’s been attracting serious attention as a cancer fighter once again proves that foods can be powerful medicine against cancer. This fruit from the graviola plant has been used in folk medicine for more than a century, and contains more than 200 different natural phytochemicals that are beneficial in the human body.

By Lee Euler / August 26, 2020

A tropical fruit that’s been attracting serious attention as a cancer fighter once again proves that foods can be powerful medicine against cancer.

This fruit from the graviola plant has been used in folk medicine for more than a century, and contains more than 200 different natural phytochemicals that are beneficial in the human body.¹

Among these phytochemicals are acetogenins, which scientists believe can annihilate even the most aggressive cancers, such as brain cancer.

The graviola plant is known by many names, graviola in Brazil, soursop in England and guanabana in Spain and in the U.S.

The tropical plant can grow 18 feet high. Its hanging fruit is lumpy and bulbous — downright ugly, some people think — yet has such a wonderful taste that one writer dubbed it the “frog prince of the plant kingdom.”²

So it’s no surprise that graviola fruit is used to make smoothies, fruit drinks, ice cream, candy and sherbets across Spain and Central and South America. But to cancer researchers, graviola is more than just a tasty treat.

Remarkable healing powers

Much of the research into graviola is centered on the actions of the acetogenins, which the graviola plant makes from long chain fatty acids.

Acetogenin molecules are shaped like microscopic kites and this feature, researchers believe, gives them the ability to interfere with the actions of mitochondria in cancer cells.

Remember, it’s the mitochondria in any cell that manufacture energy to allow the cell to survive. When acetogenins disrupt the energy supply in cancer cells, they can’t reproduce in large numbers to form a tumor or spread to other parts of the body.

Tests in Asia show that acetogenins in extracts from graviola can cause the mitochondrial membranes in cancer cells to leak and induce oxidative damage to the cell, causing it to die. If you imagine a cancer cell as a car, this process is similar to what would happen if you got a leak in the fuel line, gasoline spilled on the engine, and fire erupted.

While your local fire department can douse a car fire, the result of the oxidative fire to cancer cells is apoptosis – a self-destruct program built into cells that triggers death when they are severely compromised.³

Best of all, acetogenins appear to damage only cancer cells, leaving healthy cells alone.

Holding the line against brain cancer 

One of the most deadly types of brain cancer involves astrocytes. Astrocytes are star-shaped cells that are critical for the healthy function of the blood-brain barrier—the natural barrier that keeps toxins out of brain tissue. Astrocytes are also essential for supplying nutrients to brain neurons and for repairing damaged neurons, as well as for normal cell signaling.

You can imagine that when astrocytes “go rogue” and become cancerous, the results are usually deadly. One such cancer, glioblastoma, often claims its victims within twelve to fifteen months.

That’s why the latest research on graviola is so exciting.

A study in Asia shows that extracts made from graviola can have epigenetic effects, or effects on genes, that may make brain cancers like glioblastoma more treatable.

In these studies, the researchers tested various extracts of graviola, from the fruit, leaves and seeds, finding that each could individually interfere with a cancer-defending gene called MUDENG, otherwise known as Mu-2-related death-inducing gene, or simply, MuD.

The actions of MuD in brain cancer cells is to help these malignant cells survive circumstances that might otherwise kill them off via apoptosis. But the Asian researchers found that the graviola extracts, particularly an extract made from the fruit of the plant, can disarm this cancer cell defense system and help finish off these tumor-forming cells.⁴

Graviola helps fight other cancers, too  

Additional research demonstrates that graviola is useful against a number of other cancers to help patients:

• Lower the risk of colon cancer. Research shows that an extract from graviola leaves acts as an antioxidant in the digestive tract and slows the formation of tumors in the colon.⁵
• Prevent the growth and spread of pancreatic cancer. A study at the University of Nebraska shows that an extract made from graviola leaves and stems may kill pancreatic cancer cells by increasing their oxidative stress, cutting off their blood supply and acting in ways that spur the immune system to attack the malignancy.⁶
• Slow the growth of prostate cancer. An investigation at the University of Colorado Denver shows that an extract made from graviola fruit pulp can reduce inflammation in the prostate that is linked to faster growth of cancer.⁷

Best of all, graviola is safe, unlike many conventional cancer treatments. In fact, graviola’s phytochemicals are so beneficial for good health that graviola fruit has been used to help nursing mothers increase milk production.

Powerful folk medicine
confirmed by modern science 

Graviola has another remarkable benefit, according to research in Spain. Lab tests at the University of Seville show that an extract made from the leaves of the plant can reduce the mood swings, irritability and muscle aches of fibromyalgia.⁸

“The consumption of extract of Annonamuricata (graviola) leaves in pharmaceutical form and in the correct dosage can reduce the chronic pain, anxiety and depression that accompany this disease. This extract comes from the traditional preparation using decoction,” says researcher Ana MaríaQuilez, who is with the university’s Medicinal Plants Research group.

None of this is any surprise to folk medicine’s traditional healers. They’ve long used traditional decoctions of graviola to fight cancer, pain, fever, infection, inflammation, diarrhea and dysentery, and to heal wounds.

From what I’ve seen, the research into the health benefits of graviola – both for fighting cancer and healing other health problems – is just beginning. Already, a number of alternative doctors routinely prescribe graviola as part of their cancer-fighting protocol.

As scientists look more closely at how the phytochemicals in graviola help the body fight cancer, we hope their research will catch the attention of conventional oncologists who can then begin to see how powerful natural extracts from plants can be in treating cancer.

Best regards,

Lee Euler,
Publisher

References:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6091294/#sec9title
2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/travel/1993/01/31/ahhhhhh-the-soursop
   /0384e624-0a10-4d5c-9d6a-d01b26d382c7/
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25860620/
4. https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2019/ra/c8ra10039j
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4393181/
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3371140/
7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26979487/
8. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213434418300045

https://www.cancerdefeated.com/cancer-fighting-super-fruit-stuns-scientists/

World first cancer treatment at NHS hospital could make chemo 'more effective by using BUBBLES'

World first cancer treatment being trialled in NHS hospitals could make chemotherapy 'more effective by using BUBBLES to help kill tumours'

• Acoustic cluster therapy involves injecting microbubbles and liquid droplets
• Ultrasound used to make bubbles grow larger and stretch the tumour's walls 
• Increases chance of chemo drugs reaching cancer cells and not healthy ones

By CONNOR BOYD HEALTH REPORTER FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 09:27 GMT, 18 December 2019 | UPDATED: 14:08 GMT, 18 December 2019

NHS hospitals are trialling a world-first way of delivering chemotherapy to try and make the grueling cancer treatment more effective. 

It involves using tiny bubbles to get more drugs inside tumours without damaging healthy cells, a brutal side effect of chemo.

Known as acoustic cluster therapy, the pioneering technique sees these microscopic bubbles injected directly into the site of the cancer.

An ultrasound is used to create high-frequency waves that make the bubbles grow larger and stretch the tumour walls. 

This gives medication a bigger target to aim for, greatly increasing the amount of drugs which reach the cancer cells.

In theory, oncologists say it has the potential to boost the potency of the treatment and lead to fewer side effects. The therapy is given alongside every bout of chemo.

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Karen Childs is the first patient on the clinical trial and is receiving treatment at The Royal Marsden in Chelsea following a liver cancer diagnosis in November 2013

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She said it was 'an incredible opportunity' to be on the trial and hopes it opens the door for 'side effect-free' treatments for cancer sufferers in the future

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 Mrs Childs (receiving the therapy) said it 'hadn't sunk in yet' that she is 'the very first patient in the world to be receiving this new treatment'

Chemotherapy can be taxing on the body, leading to weakened immune systems, vomiting, trouble breathing, hair loss and irregular heart rhythms. 

The drugs are delivered intravenously and flow around the entire body looking to attack tumours. But they kill off healthy cells in the process. 

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is testing acoustic cluster therapy on patients at its three hospitals in London and Surrey.

HOW DOES ACOUSTIC CLUSTER THERAPY WORK?

It uses microscopic clusters of bubbles and liquid droplets.

They are injected near the site of the tumour.

An ultrasound is used to create high-frequency waves which 'activate' the bubbles and droplets.

These waves cause them to grow larger within the tumour, stretching its walls. 

This gives the chemo drugs a bigger target to aim for.

It is hoped it will greatly increase the amount of medication which reaches the cancer cells. 

Acoustic cluster therapy was invented by the Norwegian company Phoenix Solutions. 

It was further developed with proof-of-concept studies by scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim.

It uses microscopic clusters of bubbles and liquid droplets to enhance the delivery of chemo drugs to tumours. They are injected into the site of the cancerous mass.

A standard ultrasound is used to convert the clusters into larger bubbles, which stretch the walls of the tumour as they grow.

This gives the chemo drugs a better chance of reaching the cancer cells.

Karen Childs was the first patient on the clinical trial and is receiving treatment at The Royal Marsden in Chelsea following a liver cancer diagnosis in November 2013.

Mrs Childs, from North West London, said: 'I’m not sure it’s sunk in yet that I’m the very first patient in the world to be receiving this new treatment.

‘This trial is an exciting step for the hospital and a huge step for patients like me. It really would make a big difference to patients’ lives if side effects could be reduced in the future using more targeted treatments like this.

‘It’s an incredible opportunity to be on this trial and the staff at The Royal Marsden have been amazing and very supportive.’

The trial is being run by The Institute of Cancer Research. It will be some time before its success can be assessed and many more trials would be needed before it could be rolled out.

Jeffrey Bamber, professor in physics applied to medicine, who helped develop and evaluate the technology at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: ‘It’s a very exciting "door opening" technology which concentrates more of the drug in the tumour.

‘We expect eventually to be able to both treat tumours more effectively and reduce the rate and severity of side effects.

‘In the long term we hope this technology will be of particular benefit in difficult-to-treat tumours, such as those of the pancreas. It may also assist new types of treatments such as immunotherapy.’

Roughly 120,000 people in the UK, a third of all new cancer patients, have chemo each year. Around 650,000 receive the treatment in the US.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-7804695/World-cancer-treatment-NHS-hospital-make-chemo-effective-using-BUBBLES.html

Brocolli Helps Your Genes Shift into Anti-Cancer Mode

Your body’s most important anti-cancer defenses are its own home grown, natural systems designed to zap cancer cells as soon as they appear. One of your body’s weapons is certain genes in your cells that often undermine these enemies.

By Lee Euler / June 23, 2019

But to keep those defenses functioning at full capacity, it’s crucial to eat the right foods.

And at or near the top of the list is a food I’ve often recommended for its anti-cancer benefits: broccoli. Research proves that it bolsters your cancer defenses by making the anti-cancer genes in your cells more dependable.

When a certain food – or ANY outside influence – changes the way genes work, the effect is described as “epigenetic.” Genes often need an environmental influence to activate them.

New evidence for broccoli’s anti-cancer epigenetic benefits has been uncovered at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School. In their tests, the Boston scientists focused on a gene called PTEN – a genetic element well-known for making proteins that suppress tumors.

In the body, though, things can run off the track with PTEN. Sometimes this gene can mutate into a warped, dysfunctional form, other times it gets deleted, and still other times it may be inadvertently down-regulated (held back from doing its job properly) – and that’s not a complete list of what can go wrong.

To use the word I used earlier, there’s an issue with this gene’s dependability.

But when PTEN isn’t operating at full capacity, a natural compound in broccoli can give the gene a swift activating kick in the molecular pants.

Broccoli’s role in keeping PTEN in working order involves another gene called WWP1. WWP1 can manufacture an enzyme that disables PTEN’s ability to hold back tumors. But a chemical in broccoli called indole-3-carbinol can take care of that problem by blocking the production of this troublesome enzyme.1

“We found a new important player that drives a pathway critical to the development of cancer, an enzyme that can be inhibited with a natural compound found in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables (like cabbage, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower),” says researcher Pier Paolo Pandolfi.

Get that gene to work

Broccoli’s genetic benefits don’t stop with blocking this enzyme and the genes that manufacture it.

According to scientists at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, the sulforaphane contained in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables can hold back cancer through other epigenetic pathways.

Broccoli is a multifaceted cancer fighter – medicine on a dinner plate.

For quite a while, it’s been evident that sulforaphane is one of the most important natural, health-giving substances in broccoli. Scientists suspected that this compound played a role in influencing the cellular behavior of enzymes called histone deacetylases (HDACs). HDACs can get in the way of genes that terminate cancer developments in the body.

The Oregon researchers point out that sulforaphane not only inhibits the activity of HDACs, it also plays a role in an epigenetic mechanism known as DNA methylation in a way that reduces the risk of cancer.2

DNA methylation is a common cellular process that switches genes on and off. In this way, certain DNA material expresses itself and takes part in directing the manufacture of proteins. Other parts of the genetic code are silenced and have to sit on the sidelines without playing a part.

Cellular partners that fight cancer 

“It appears that DNA methylation and HDAC inhibition, both of which can be influenced by sulforaphane, work in concert with each other to maintain proper cell function,” explains researcher Emily Ho. “They sort of work as partners and talk to each other.”

Dr. Ho points out that sulforaphane’s “one-two punch” moderates this twin pair of genetic activities in the cells and keeps cell division under control. Because when cell reproduction slips its moorings, cells can multiply wildly and form tumors.

“Cancer is very complex and it’s usually not just one thing that has gone wrong,” Dr. Ho explains. “It’s increasingly clear that sulforaphane is a real multi-tasker. The more we find out about it, the more benefits it appears to have.”

When a cell becomes cancerous, the orderly regulation of gene silencing and activation goes awry. (These functions can also become jumbled in certain types of heart disease, immune system problems and neurodegenerative conditions).

“With these processes, the key is balance,” says Dr. Ho. “DNA methylation is a natural process, and when properly controlled is helpful. But when the balance gets mixed up it can cause havoc, and that’s where some of these critical nutrients are involved. They help restore the balance.”

When junk isn’t junk

The Oregon researchers also believe that further work on how the compounds in broccoli affect epigenetics involved in cancer could eventually offer an alternative treatment for cancer that isn’t nearly as dangerous as chemotherapy.

In this vein, other Oregon studies have analyzed how sulforaphane affects what are called non-coding RNAs (IncRNAs). These substances were once believed to be “junk DNA” that did not play an important part boosting cell survival.

Now, researchers have realized that instead of being “junk,” IncRNAs play a crucial part in helping genes function correctly. Here, too, when things get out of balance, cancer and other diseases can rage out of control.

Research on IncRNA shows that one type in particular, called LINC01116, can lead to cancer when it is dangerously “upregulated” – stimulating cells to reproduce rapidly and spread.

“We showed that treatment with sulforaphane could normalize the levels of this lncRNA,” says researcher Laura Beaver. “This may relate to more than just cancer prevention. It would be of significant value if we could develop methods to greatly slow the progress of cancer, help keep it from becoming invasive.”

The Oregon research demonstrates that when prostate cancer cells encounter sulforaphane, they undergo a four-fold decrease in their ability to colonize and form tumors, because the activity of LINC01116 is restrained.3

The researchers explain that this same IncRNA is found at high levels in lung, colon and brain cancer. And other misbehaving IncRNAs are present in leukemia as well as stomach, breast and lung cancer.

With all this emerging research on broccoli, I think it’s pretty obvious that anyone concerned about cancer should be eating this and other cruciferous vegetables frequently. To get the biggest dose of the cancer-preventing natural compounds in these foods, eat them raw or very lightly cooked. But no matter how you prepare them, they’re going to do good things for your health.

References:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31097636
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22303414
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28131897

https://www.cancerdefeated.com/this-food-helps-your-genes-shift-into-anti-cancer-mode/

PubMed PMC research articles on papaya leaf extract

Research articles on Papaya (carica papaya)

• Selective anti-proliferative activities of Carica papaya leaf juice extracts against prostate cancer.[Biomed Pharmacother. 2017]
• Traditional Aboriginal Preparation Alters the Chemical Profile of Carica papaya Leaves and Impacts on Cytotoxicity towards Human Squamous Cell Carcinoma.[PLoS One. 2016]
• Anti-proliferation and Apoptosis Induction of Aqueous Leaf Extract of Carica papaya L. on Human Breast Cancer Cells MCF-7.[Pak J Biol Sci. 2017]
• Anticancer activity of Carica papaya: a review.[Mol Nutr Food Res. 2013]
• Anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties of Carica papaya.[J Immunotoxicol. 2016]
• 
  
• Aqueous extract of Carica papaya leaves exhibits anti-tumor activity and immunomodulatory effects.[J Ethnopharmacol. 2010]
• Antioxidant and apoptotic effects of Callistemon lanceolatus leaves and their compounds against human cancer cells.[Biomed Pharmacother. 2018]
• Evaluation of the cytotoxicity, cell-cycle arrest, and apoptotic induction by Euphorbia hirta in MCF-7 breast cancer cells.[Pharm Biol. 2016]
• Review Anticancer activity of Carica papaya: a review.[Mol Nutr Food Res. 2013]
• Review Anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties of Carica papaya.[J Immunotoxicol. 2016]
• 
  

• Bio-Guided Fractionation of Papaya Leaf Juice for Delineating the Components Res...
• 
  
• Dengue fever treatment with Carica papaya leaves extracts.[Asian Pac J Trop Biomed. 2011]
• Inhibition of Platelet Aggregation by the Leaf Extract of Carica papaya During Dengue Infection: An In Vitro Study.[Viral Immunol. 2016]
• Review Anticancer activity of Carica papaya: a review.[Mol Nutr Food Res. 2013]
• Review [Hemorrhagic dengue and vertical transmission to the newborn: a case report and literature review].[Ginecol Obstet Mex. 2014]

• Effect of Carica papaya Leaf Extract Capsule on Platelet Count in Patients of Dengue Fever with Thrombocytopenia.



https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/papaya-leaf






Research articles on American Paw paw 

(Asimina triloba)  not papaya

• Correlation Between Acetogenin Content and Antiproliferative Activity of Pawpaw (Asimina triloba [L.] Dunal) Fruit Pulp Grown in Korea.[J Food Sci. 2018]
• Paw paw and cancer: annonaceous acetogenins from discovery to commercial products.[J Nat Prod. 2008]
• Identification of annonaceous acetogenins in the ripe fruit of the North American pawpaw ( Asimina triloba ).[J Agric Food Chem. 2009]
• Magnolol suppresses hypoxia-induced angiogenesis via inhibition of HIF-1α/VEGF signaling pathway in human bladder cancer cells.[Biochem Pharmacol. 2013]
• Hypoxia-induced angiogenesis during carcinogenesis.[J Biochem Mol Biol. 2003]

The Alternative Medicine Pawpaw and Its Acetogenin Constituents Suppress Tumor Angiogenesis via the HIF-1/VEGF Pathway

Game-changing cancer drugs which can attack all tumours will be fast-tracked by NHS

Game-changing cancer drugs which can attack all types of tumour will be fast-tracked by the NHS, the head of the health service will today announce.

•  Laura Donnelly, health editor

19 JUNE 2019 • 12:01AM

A revolutionary class of treatments could offer hope to thousands of patients in cases which were previously untreatable CREDIT: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Simon Stevens will say that a revolutionary class of treatments - known as “tumour agnostic” drugs - could offer hope to thousands of patients in cases which were previously untreatable.

They work by targeting tumours according to their genetic make-up, rather than where they originate in the body.

As a result, they can be used to treat a range of type of diseases - shrinking tumours in up to three quarters of cancers tested.

Today Mr Stevens will tell a conference of NHS leaders in Manchester that preparations are underway to ensure the next generation of treatment can be quickly made available to patients.

Two of the first drugs are expected to be licenced later this year, and could be approved by NHS rationing bodies soon after, depending on price negotiations.

Earlier detection and treatment of cancer is a central part of the long-term plan for the health service.

Mr Stevens is expected to tell the NHS Confederation conference: “This exciting new breakthrough in cancer treatment is the latest example of how the NHS can lead the way in the new era of personalised cancer care.

“The benefits for patients, in particular children, of being able to treat many different types of cancers with one drug is potentially huge, helping them to lead longer, healthier lives.”

It follows a decision last year to make England the first country in Europe to fund another pioneering treatment, called Car-T, which programmes the body to attack rogue cells, for children.

Today Mr Stevens will say that children should also be among the first to benefit from the new generation of drugs, which target tumours with the genetic variation which accelerates growth.

With such treatments, testing the tumour’s genes or other molecular features assists in deciding which treatments may be best, regardless of where the cancer is located.

The advances are possible because of the NHS national genomic medicine and testing service, launched last year, which allows patients to be tested to see who can benefit from access to targeted treatment, often when no other options are available.

The genetic flaw - known as neurotropic tyrosine receptor kinase, or NTRK - is most commonly found in rare cancers such as  salivary tumours and infantile fibrosarcoma but is also in low levels in more common cancers.

Two drugs - Larotrectinib, produced by Bayer, and entrectinib, from Roche, are expected to be the first drugs to be licenced, later this year.

Health officials said around 850 patients a year could benefit from the frontrunners while many thousands a year are eventually expected to benefit from other treatments on the horizon.

The drugs work by blocking the NTRK enzyme, effectively shrinking the tumour. Early clinical trials showed the tumour responded in two thirds to three quarters of the cancers tested.

Existing cancer drugs need to be approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for each individual type of cancer they treat such as breast or colon cancer.

However, when approved, the new drugs would be available to treat all types of tumour without individual approval.

Mr Stevens will urge health leaders to prepare to introduce the drugs, ahead of meetings next week about how to ensure speedy adoption of the drugs.

Today he will also say that manufacturers need to set fair and affordable prices for the treatments. In recent months, a number of deals have been agreed between the NHS and manufacturers, allowing the rollout of drugs for rare disease, but they remain at loggerheads about the pricing of a treatment for cystic fibrosis, which the NHS refuses to fund.

Mr Stevens will today say: “Preparations are underway to make sure the NHS can adopt these next generation of treatments, but manufacturers need to set fair and affordable prices so treatments can be made available to those who need them.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/06/18/game-changing-cancer-drugs-can-attack-tumours-will-fast-tracked/