Cranberry Kills Ovarian Cancer Cells In Vitro

By Kyle J. Norton

The ovaries formed part of the female reproductive system are the oval-shaped ovum that connects to the fallopian tubes and attaches to the outer layer of the uterus via the ovarian ligament.

Normally, the left and right ovary take a turn to release an egg every month. The ovaries also play a critical role in the production of estrogen and progesterone in the regulation of the process of women menstrual cycle including the release of an egg that migrates down the fallopian tube.

Most common disease associated with ovary dysfunction is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal disorder among women of reproductive age.

Ovarian cancer is a chronic and medical condition characterized by abnormal cells growth of ovarian cells which start on the surface of the inner lining of the ovarian tissue. Over time, after penetrating into deeper layers in the ovary, the cancer cell may travel a distance away to infect other nearby healthy tissues or organs, causing secondary metastasis.

Ovarian cancer is one of the most common cancers in the US. According to the statistics adapted from the American Cancer Society's publication, Cancer Facts & Figures 2010, approximately 21,880 women in the United States were diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  In the same year, ovarian cancer also causes the death of  13,850 American women.

The exact causes of ovarian cancer are not identified. However, epidemiologically, aging, genetic preposition, race, never pregnant women, family history, long-term chemical exposure, and menopausal hormone therapy MHT are some prevalent factors found in patients with the disease.

Dr. Prof. Rod Baber wrote, "Increased risk persisted after stopping the treatment for some years among women who had used MHT for more than 5 years".

And, "Overall, this increased risk was similar for European and North American perspective studies and for both estrogen-only and estrogen plus progestogen preparations but differed across the subtypes of epithelial ovarian cancers, being increased only in serious and endometrioid subtypes and decreased in mucinous and clear cell subtypes".

Cranberry is an evergreen dwarf shrub, genus Vaccinium, belongings to the family Ericaceae, native to Northern America and Southern Asia. Because of its health benefits, cranberry has been cultivated in some parts of the world for commercial profit and used in traditional and herbal medicine to treat wounds, urinary disorders, diarrhea, diabetes, stomach ailments, and liver problems.

On finding a potential compound for the treatment of ovarian cancer researchers examined the effect of cranberry flavonoids (flavonols and flavan-3-ols) SKOV-3 and OVCAR-8 ovarian cancer.

According to the tested assays, treatment with quercetin aglycone and PAC DP-9 from the cranberry flavonoids exhibited the strongest activity that induces apoptosis compared to other bioactive compounds.

The combination also inhibited the caspase-3 activation and PARP deactivation associated with apoptosis and increased the cisplatin sensitivity against the tested cell lines.

In SKOV-3 cells, PAC DP-9 also reduced the expression and activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) associated with cancer cell differentiation and proliferation.

Furthermore, quercetin aglycone and PAC DP-9 deactivated MAPK-ERK pathway and the overexpression of proteins associated with the promotion of cancer cell growth.

Moreover, the combination also promotes the gene expression of cancer suppression and arrested cell cycle progression.

Based on the findings, researchers said, "Overall, this study demonstrates promising in vitro cytotoxic and anti-proliferative properties of two newly characterized cranberry flavonoids, quercetin aglycone, and PAC DP-9, against ovarian cancer cells".

Taken altogether, cranberry processed abundantly quercetin aglycone and PAC DP-9 may be considered a remedy for the prevention and treatment of ovarian cancer, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

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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) The cranberry flavonoids PAC DP-9 and quercetin aglycone induce cytotoxicity and cell cycle arrest and increase cisplatin sensitivity in ovarian cancer cells by Wang Y1, Han A2, Chen E2, Singh RK2, Chichester CO3, Moore RG2, Singh AP1, Vorsa N. (PubMed)
(2) Anti-angiogenic activity of cranberry proanthocyanidins and cytotoxic properties in ovarian cancer cells by Kim KK1, Singh AP, Singh RK, Demartino A, Brard L, Vorsa N, Lange TS, Moore RG. (PubMed)
(3) Menopausal hormone therapy and ovarian cancer by Prof. Rod Baber. (PMC)