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DURHAM, N.C. -- Restricting carbohydrates, regardless of weight loss, appears to slow the growth of prostate tumors, according to an animal study being published this week by researchers in the Duke Prostate Center. "Previous work here and elsewhere has shown that a diet light in carbohydrates could slow tumor growth, but the animals in those studies also lost weight, and because we know that weight loss can restrict the amount of energy feeding tumors, we weren't able to tell just how big an impact the pure carbohydrate restriction was having, until now," said Stephen Freedland, M.D., a urologist in the Duke Prostate Center and lead investigator on this study. The researchers believe that insulin and insulin-like growth factor contribute to the growth and proliferation of prostate cancer, and that a diet devoid of carbohydrates lowers serum insulin levels in the bodies of the mice, thereby slowing tumor growth, Freedland said.

"Berberine is a quaternary ammonium salt from the group of isoquinoline alkaloids. It is found in such plants as Berberis, goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis), and Coptis chinensis, usually in the roots, rhizomes, stems, and bark. Berberine is strongly yellow colored, which is why in earlier times berberis species were used to dye wool, leather and wood. Wool is still today dyed with berberine in Northern India Berberine (BBR) is a natural compound with up-regulating activity on both low-density-lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) and insulin receptor (InsR). This one-drug-multiple-target characteristic might be suitable for the treatment of metabolic syndrome.[12] Berberine has been tested and used successfully in experimental[13] and human diabetes mellitus.[14][15][16] Berberine has been shown to lower elevated blood glucose as effectively as metformin.[17] The mechanisms include inhibition of aldose reductase,[18] inducing glycolysis,[19] preventing insulin resistance[20] through increasing insulin receptor expression[14] and acting like incretins. Berberine has drawn extensive attention towards its antineoplastic effects.[43][44] It seems to suppress the growth of a wide variety of tumor cells including breast cancer,[45] leukemia, melanoma,[46] epidermoid carcinoma, hepatoma, oral carcinoma, tongue carcinoma,[47] glioblastoma, prostate carcinoma, gastric carcinoma.[48][49] Animal studies have shown that berberine can suppress chemical-induced carcinogenesis, tumor promotion, tumor invasion,[50][51][52][53][54] prostate cancer,[55][56][57][58] neuroblastoma,[59][60] and leukemia.[34][61] It is a radiosensitzer of tumor cells but not of normal cells

PHILADELPHIA - Researchers at Amgen are testing a fully human monoclonal antibody that inhibits the activity of insulin-like growth factors (IGF-1 and IGF-2) and appears to reduce pancreatic cancer cells in early testing, according to a report in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

A multicountry ecologic study of risk and risk reduction factors for prostate cancer mortality. Grant WB. Eur Urol. 2004 Mar;45(3):271-9. PMID: 15036670 CONCLUSIONS: These results are consistent with insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), being an important risk factor for prostate cancer, with alcohol and calcium being less important risk factors, and with allium family vegetables, and, to a lesser extent, vitamin D being important risk reduction factors. These results should provide guidance for additional studies on dietary and environmental links to prostate cancer.