Fw: [HAWK_Health_Awareness] Fwd: UMHS Press Release: Ginger kills ovarian cancer cells - Sent using Google Toolbar

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--- On Sat, 8/15/09, Kelvin Health <kelvin.health wrote:

 

Kelvin Health <kelvin.health

[HAWK_Health_Awareness] Fwd: UMHS Press Release: Ginger kills ovarian

cancer cells - Sent using Google Toolbar

To:

Saturday, August 15, 2009, 3:08 AM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

interesting read..

 

i've been looking into the benefits of ginger and considering adding that to my

daily green smoothies... i came across this during my search on the net and thot

i'd share in case it's valuable to others.

 

 

 

**

UMHS Press Release: Ginger kills ovarian cancer cells

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ginger causes ovarian cancer cells to die, U-M researchers find

Cell studies show promise for ginger as potential ovarian cancer

treatment

Notice to patients: This study represents very preliminary

research findings made in the laboratory. Further testing is needed before

researchers know how or if ginger should play a role in the treatment of ovarian

cancer. U-M researchers do not recommend taking ginger as treatment for cancer.

Please talk to your oncologist before taking any dietary or herbal supplements.

For more information about ovarian cancer treatment, call Cancer AnswerLine at

800-865-1125.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANN ARBOR, MI – Ginger is known to ease nausea and control

inflammation. But researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive

Cancer Center are investigating a new use for this age-old remedy: treating

ovarian cancer.

 

 

 

 

 

In laboratory studies, researchers found ginger caused ovarian

cancer cells to die. Further, the way in which the cells died suggests ginger

may avoid the problem common in ovarian cancer of cells becoming resistant to

standard treatments.

 

 

 

 

 

The researchers are presenting their results in a poster

session at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting.

 

 

 

 

 

Researchers used ginger powder, similar to what is sold at

grocery stores, only a standardized research grade. The ginger powder was

dissolved in solution and applied to ovarian cancer cell cultures. Ginger

induced cell death in all the ovarian cancer cell lines tested.

 

 

 

 

 

Moreover, the researchers found that ginger caused two types of

cell death. One type, known as apoptosis, results from cancer cells essentially

committing suicide. The other type of cell death, called autophagy, results

from cells digesting or attacking themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

“Most ovarian cancer patients develop recurrent disease that

eventually becomes resistant to standard chemotherapy – which is associated

with resistance to apoptosis. If ginger can cause autophagic cell death in

addition to apoptosis, it may circumvent resistance to conventional

chemotherapy,†says study author J. Rebecca Liu, M.D., assistant professor of

obstetrics and gynecology at the U-M Medical School and a member of the U-M

Comprehensive Cancer Center.

 

 

 

 

 

Study results are very preliminary, and researchers plan to

test whether they can obtain similar results in animal studies. The appeal of

ginger as a potential treatment for ovarian cancer is that it would have

virtually no side effects and would be easy to administer as a capsule.

 

 

 

 

 

Ginger is effective at controlling inflammation, and

inflammation contributes to the development of ovarian cancer cells. By halting

the inflammatory reaction, the researchers suspect, ginger also stops cancer

cells from growing.

 

 

 

 

 

“In multiple ovarian cancer cell lines, we found that ginger

induced cell death at a similar or better rate than the platinum-based

chemotherapy drugs typically used to treat ovarian cancer,†says Jennifer

Rhode, M.D., a gynecologic oncology fellow at the U-M Medical School.

 

 

 

 

 

Liu’s lab is also looking at the effects on ovarian cancer of

resveratrol, a substance found in red wine, and curcumin, the active ingredient

in the curry spice turmeric. In addition, researchers at the U-M Comprehensive

Cancer Center are investigating ginger to control nausea from chemotherapy and

ginger to prevent colon cancer.

 

 

 

 

 

“Patients are using natural products either in place of or in

conjunction with chemotherapy, and we don’t know if they work or how they

work. We don’t know how these products interact with chemotherapy or other

cancer treatments. There’s no good clinical data,†Liu says.

 

 

 

 

 

More than 20,000 women are expected to be diagnosed with

ovarian cancer this year, and 15,000 will die from the disease, according to

the American Cancer Society. For information about ovarian cancer, go to

www.cancer.med.umich.edu/learn/ovarianinfo.htm or call the U-M Cancer AnswerLine

at 800-865-1125.

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to Rhode and Liu, study authors are undergraduate

student Jennifer Huang, research associates Sarah Fogoros and Lijun Tan, and

Suzanna Zick, N.D., M.P.H., research investigator in family medicine.

 

 

 

 

 

Funding for the study was from the National Center for

Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of Health.

 

 

 

 

 

Reference: American Association for Cancer Research 97th annual

meeting, April 1-5, 2006, Washington, D.C.

 

 

 

 

 

Written by Nicole Fawcett