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Ginkgo biloba extract EGb(R)761 exerts anti-angiogenic effects via activation of tyrosine phosphatases. Koltermann A, Liebl J, Fürst R, Ammer H, Vollmar AM, Zahler S. J Cell Mol Med. 2008 Oct 23. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19175691

Berberine, a natural product, induces G1-phase cell cycle arrest and caspase-3-dependent apoptosis in human prostate carcinoma cells. Mantena SK, Sharma SD, Katiyar SK. Mol Cancer Ther. 2006 Feb;5(2):296-308. PMID: 16505103 doi: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-05-0448 The effectiveness of berberine in checking the growth of androgen-insensitive, as well as androgen-sensitive, prostate cancer cells without affecting the growth of normal prostate epithelial cells indicates that it may be a promising candidate for prostate cancer therapy. The evaluation of ancient herbal medicines may indicate novel strategies for the treatment of prostate cancer, which remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in American men (1). In our present investigation, we show that a naturally occurring isoquinoline alkaloid, berberine, significantly inhibits the proliferation and reduces the viability of DU145 and PC-3 as well as LNCaP cells (Fig. 1), which suggests that berberine may be an effective chemotherapeutic agent against both androgen-sensitive and androgen-insensitive prostate cancer cells. Importantly, we found that berberine did not exhibit toxicity to nonneoplastic human prostate epithelial cells under the conditions used, except for a moderate reduction in cell viability at higher concentrations when cells were treated in vitro for an extended period of time. In conclusion, the results of the present study indicate that berberine inhibits proliferation and induces G1-phase arrest and apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells but not in normal human prostate epithelial cells. In addition, we provide mechanistic evidence that berberine-induced apoptosis in prostate carcinoma cells, particularly hormone-refractory prostate carcinoma cells, is mediated through enhanced expression of Bax, disruption of the mitochondrial membrane potential, and activation of caspase-3.

Singh RP, Agarwal R. Prostate cancer chemoprevention by silibinin: bench to bedside. Mol Carcinog. 2006 Jun;45(6):436-42. Review. PMID: 16637061 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Holick MF. Vitamin D: its role in cancer prevention and treatment. Prog Biophys Mol Biol. 2006 Sep;92(1):49-59. Epub 2006 Mar 10. Review. PMID: 16566961 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Pan Q, Bao LW, Kleer CG, Brewer GJ, Merajver SD. Antiangiogenic tetrathiomolybdate enhances the efficacy of doxorubicin against breast carcinoma. Mol Cancer Ther. 2003 Jul;2(7):617-22. PMID: 12883034 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Vitamin D and prevention of breast cancer: pooled analysis. Garland CF, Gorham ED, Mohr SB, Grant WB, Giovannucci EL, Lipkin M, Newmark H, Holick MF, Garland FC. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2007 Mar;103(3-5):708-11. PMID: 17368188 CONCLUSIONS: Intake of 2000 IU/day of Vitamin D(3), and, when possible, very moderate exposure to sunlight, could raise serum 25(OH)D to 52 ng/ml, a level associated with reduction by 50% in incidence of breast cancer, according to observational studies.

Tetrathiomolybdate promotes tumor necrosis and prevents distant metastases by suppressing angiogenesis in head and neck cancer -- Hassouneh et al. 6 (3): 1039 -- Molecular Cancer Therapeutics