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Berberine and Coptidis rhizoma as novel antineoplastic agents: a review of traditional use and biomedical investigations. Tang J, Feng Y, Tsao S, Wang N, Curtain R, Wang Y. J Ethnopharmacol. 2009 Oct 29;126(1):5-17. Epub 2009 Aug 15. PMID: 19686830 doi:10.1016/j.jep.2009.08.009 Conclusions The modern evidences of treating cancer with Huanglian and berberine have a strong linkage with traditional concept and rules of using Huanglian in CM practice. As anticancer candidates with low toxicity, berberine and its altered structure, as well as Huanglian and its formulae, will attract scientists to pursue the potential anticancer effects and the mechanisms by using technologies of genomics, proteomics and other advanced approaches. On the other hand, relatively few in vivo studies have been conducted on anticancer effects of Huanglian and berberine. The clinical application of berberine or Huanglian as novel cancer therapeutic agents requires in vivo validations and further investigations of their anticancer mechanisms.

A Novel Anti-angiogenesis Strategy for the Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer - News Archive: Michigan Oncology Journal Summer 01

Determining the best way of treating cancer remains highly controversial, even among mainstream oncologists. What may surprise the reader is the large number of documented therapies that have been overlooked by establishment medicine. The fundamental objective of this book is to encourage the expedient transfer of published scientific findings from the research bench to the clinical setting where the patient may benefit. This is the concept of translational medicine, which means translating knowledge from the laboratory side of medicine to the front lines of patient care. Physicians who practice translational medicine react uniquely when informed about a novel therapy. Their curiosity first motivates them to evaluate the new approach in order to reaffirm safety and efficacy in the context of treatment that is appropriate to the patient's condition. The dedicated translational physician uses novel therapeutics based on:

A ground-breaking Canada-wide clinical trial led by Dr. Katherine Borden, at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the Universit de Montral, has shown that a common anti-viral drug, ribavirin, can be beneficial in the treatment of cancer patients. Published in the journal Blood (First Edition), the study demonstrates that ribavirin suppresses the activities of the eIF4E gene in patients. This gene is dysregulated in 30 percent of cancers including breast, prostate, head and neck, colon and stomach cancer.

"Worcester, MA - Current research suggests that TNF-receptor associated protein-1 (TRAP-1) may prevent cancer cell death. The related report by Leav et al, "Cytoprotective Mitochondrial Chaperone TRAP-1 as a Novel Molecular Target in Localized and Metastatic Prostate Cancer," appears in the January 2010 issue of the American Journal of Pathology. Prostate cancer cells are often resistant to cell death. Researchers led by Dr. Dario C. Altieri of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, therefore, explored the role of TRAP-1, a protein thought to regulate cell death, in prostate cancer survival. TRAP-1 was highly expressed in both high-grade human prostate cancer lesions and mouse models of prostate cancer, but not in benign or normal prostate tissue. In addition, TRAP-1 overexpression in non-cancer prostate cells inhibited cell death, whereas TRAP-1-deficient prostate cancer cells had enhanced levels of cell death. Moreover, treatment with Gamitrinib, which inhibits TRAP-1, resulted in prostate cancer cell death, but not death of non-cancerous prostate cells. Therefore, targeting TRAP-1 via Gamitrinib treatment may be a viable therapeutic strategy for patients with advanced prostate cancer."

Cancer immunotherapies, including cancer vaccines, are novel investigational cancer therapies. In contrast to chemotherapy and radiotherapy regimens that are often associated with severe side effects, cancer immunotherapy stimulates the body's immune system and natural resistance to cancer, thus offering a gentler means of cancer treatment that is less damaging to the rest of the body. Surgery is generally (but not always) performed, prior to immunotherapy, to remove most of the tumor (Hanna MG, Jr. et al 2001; Jocham D et al 2004). Vaccination or immunotherapy prompts the immune system to kill residual cancer cells that persist after surgery and could result in the cancer recurring.

Phase I trial of Seneca Valley Virus (NTX-010), a newly discovered systemically deliverable oncolytic picornavirus, in patients with solid tumors with neuroendocrine features. C. M. Rudin, D. Lansey, K. D. Burroughs, L. M. Hales, J. R. Neefe, P. S. Reddy and P. L. Hallenbeck Johns Hopkins Univ, Baltimore, MD; Neotropix, Inc., Malvern, PA. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2007 ASCO Annual Meeting Proceedings (Post-Meeting Edition). Vol 25, No 18S (June 20 Supplement), 2007: 18014 © 2007 American Society of Clinical Oncology. Conclusions: NTX-010 is a novel first-in-class anticancer virus with selective tropism for tumors with neuroendocrine features. This is the first anticancer virus given intravenously with documented selective intratumoral infection and replication. Administration was well tolerated. Safety data and viral kinetics will be presented.

Berberine suppresses in vitro migration and invasion of human SCC-4 tongue squamous cancer cells through the inhibitions of FAK, IKK, NF-kappaB, u-PA and MMP-2 and -9. Ho YT, Yang JS, Li TC, Lin JJ, Lin JG, Lai KC, Ma CY, Wood WG, Chung JG. Cancer Lett. 2009 Jul 8;279(2):155-62. Epub 2009 Feb 28. PMID: 19251361 doi:10.1016/j.canlet.2009.01.033 There is increasing evidence that urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play an important role in cancer metastasis and angiogenesis. Inhibition of u-PA and MMPs could suppress migration and invasion of cancer cells. Berberine, one of the main constituents of the plant Rhizoma coptidis, is a type of isoquinoline alkaloid, reported to have anti-cancer effects in different human cancer cell lines. There is however, no available information on effects of berberine on migration and invasion of human tongue cancer cells. Here, we report that berberine inhibited migration and invasion of human SCC-4 tongue squamous carcinoma cells. This action was mediated by the p-JNK, p-ERK, p-p38, IκK and NF-κB signaling pathways resulting in inhibition of MMP-2 and -9 in human SCC-4 tongue squamous carcinoma cells. Our Western blowing analysis also showed that berberine inhibited the levels of urokinase-plasminogen activator (u-PA). These results suggest that berberine down-regulates u-PA, MMP-2 and -9 expressions in SCC-4 cells through the FAK, IKK and NF-κB mediated pathways and a novel function of berberine is to inhibit the invasive capacity of malignant cells.

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.