Phytochemical Lycopene Gobbles Up Breast Cancer Cells in Vitro

By Kyle J. Norton

Breast Cancer is a chronic condition associated with the growth of the irregular cells in the breast tissue.

Most cases of breast cancer start in the cell on the surface of the tissues of the breast either from the inner lining of milk ducts (Ductal carcinoma) or the lobules (Lobular carcinoma) that supply the ducts with milk.

 In 2010, over 250,000 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in women in the U.S. alone and the risk of getting invasive breast cancer during the lifetime of women is 1/8.

The 5 years survival rate of the early and localized stage of breast cancer is 100%

Most common signs and symptoms of breast cancer at the early stage include, a painless lump in the breast or armpit and most often discovered by you or your partner may discover the lump or your doctor during a routine physical exam, lump (mass) in the breast, lump in the armpit (lymph nodes), nipple discharge (clear or bloody), inverted or retracted nipple, scaly skin on nipple persistent tenderness of the breast and unusual breast pain or discomfort.

If you have experienced some of the aforementioned symptoms that do not recede in a short period of time, please check with your doctor to rule out the possibility of breast cancer.

In the advanced stage of breast cancer, the cancerous cell not only can travel a distance ways from the breast to infect other healthy tissues and organ, but also induce symptoms of bone pain (Secondary tumors in the bone), shortness of breath (secondary tumors in lung), unintentional weight loss and drop in appetite (Secondary tumors in liver) and headaches, neurological pain or weakness (secondary tumors in the nervous system).

Out of many prevalent factors that cause the onset of breast cancer, some researchers suggested that the promotion of Western diet over the past few decades that cause overweight and obesity in the US may have a strong and negative impact on the breast cancer risk.

Dr. Manuel Picon‐Ruiz, the lead scientist wrote, "Recent decades have seen an unprecedented rise in obesity, and the health impact thereof is increasingly evident. In 2014, worldwide, more than 1.9 billion adults were overweight (body mass index [BMI], 25‐29.9 kg/m2), and of these, over 600 million were obese (BMI ≥30 kg/m2)".

And, "Obesity is associated both with a higher risk of developing breast cancer, particularly in postmenopausal women and with worse disease outcome for women of all ages".

Lycopene is a phytochemical in the class of carotenoid, a natural pigment with no vitamin A activity found abundantly in tomatoes and other red fruits and vegetables, such as red carrots, watermelons, and papayas,

Tomatoes provide about 80% of the lycopene in the world diet. In plants, lycopene protects the host against excessive photodamage and perform various functions in photosynthesis.

With an aim to find a plant-based secondary metabolite for the treatment of breast cancer with no side effects, scientists examined lycopene found abundantly in cooked tomato alleviated biological cell oxidative injury and inhibited tumor growth activity.

The study included. MCF-7 cells were treated with different lycopene concentrations for the duration of 24, 48, and 72 h.

According to the tested assays used in the experiment, the application of lycopene showed a significant in cancer cell shrinkage and breakage at a dose and duration-dependent manner compared to untreated breast cancer cells.

Furthermore, lycopene also reduced cell proliferation and increased apoptosis, according to the MTT and Flow cytometry assay.

The cancer cell inhibition was also found by the secondary metabolite in the stimulation of the expression of tumor-suppressive gene p53 and a protein associated with cell apoptosis.

Based on the findings, researchers said, "lycopene inhibits proliferation and facilitates apoptosis of MCF-7 cells in vitro, possibly by regulating the expression of p53 and Bax".

Moreover, breast cancer cell treated by carotenoids (lycopene and beta-carotene) at (0.5-10 μM) for 48 and 96 h, showed a significant decrease in the number of viable breast cancer cells.

In other words, the phytochemical reduced the numbers of active cells compared to the untreated cell line.

Additonally, carotenoids injection also promoted cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis in the majority of cell lines after 96 h, compared to controls.

Dr. Gloria NF, the lead researcher wrote, "These findings indicate that the effect was cell type-dependent and that carotenoids are potential agents for biological interference with cancer".

Taken altogether, lycopene used alone or combined with another phytochemical may be considered supplements for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer, pending on the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of lycopene in the form of supplement should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) In vitro effects and mechanisms of lycopene in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells by Peng SJ1, Li J1, Zhou Y2, Tuo M2, Qin XX2, Yu Q2, Cheng H2, Li YM. (PubMed)
(2) Lycopene and beta-carotene induce cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis in human breast cancer cell lines by Gloria NF1, Soares N, Brand C, Oliveira FL, Borojevic R, Teodoro AJ. (PubMed)
(3) Obesity and adverse breast cancer risk and outcome: Mechanistic insights and strategies for intervention by Manuel Picon‐Ruiz, Ph.D., 1 Cynthia Morata‐Tarifa, Ph.D., 2 Janeiro J. Valle‐Goffin, MD, 3Eitan R. Friedman, MD, 4 and Joyce M. Slingerland, MD, Ph.D. (PMC)