Bioactive Compound Lycopene Inhibits the Onset and Progression Of Esophageal Cancer in Vitro

By Kyle J. Norton

Esophagus, an organ in vertebrates, is the tube that leads foods from the pharynx to the stomach.
Esophageal cancer is a medical condition that starts in the cells on the surface of the inner lining of the esophageal tissue caused by the alternation of cell DNA.

At the advanced stage, most cases of esophageal cancer after penetrating the wall of the esophagus tend to spread to the lymph node around the bottom of the esophagus, stomach and the chest, then to the distant parts of the body.

According to the statistics provided by the American Cancer Society, in 2019, approximately 17,650 new esophageal cancer cases will be diagnosed, including 13,750 in men and 3,900 in women.

Also, in 2019, esophageal cancer will also cause the death of 16,080 Americans, including 13,020 in men and 3,060 in women.

The 5-year survival rate of people diagnosed in the local stage of esophageal cancer is 45%, much less than other cancer, including 100% of breast cancer.

2 common types of esophageal cancer are

* Adenocarcinomas are the most common type of esophageal cancer in the United States, occurred in the mucus-forming gland cells in the lower part of the esophagus.

* Squamous cancer occurs in the flat, thin cells that line the surface of the upper part of the esophagus.

Some researchers suggested that the risk of esophageal cancer can be reduced by

* Medicine
Taking medicine such as aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may reduce the risk of Esophageal cancer. Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center suggested that aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs disrupt the pathway, slow the growth of abnormal cells and facilitate the normal process of apoptosis.

* Quit-smoking and quit-heavy alcohol drinking
Heavy alcohol drinking and smoking account for over 90% of all squamous cancer.

* Avoid very hot foods
Food that is very hot can cause damage to the esophagus. Eating very hot foods for a prolonged period of time can cause an infection that leads to esophageal cancer.

* Reducing intake of fried, baked and roasted food
Fried, baked and roasted food contain acrylamide, a potentially cancer-causing carcinogenic chemical. In the animal lab, studies showed that large exposures to acrylamide may cause health problems, including damage to the nervous system and increased risk of cancer, including esophageal cancer.

* Maintaining a healthy weight
Researchers suggested that avoiding excessive weight gain and obesity may lower your risk of developing esophageal adenocarcinoma.

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 natural compound for the treatment of esophageal cancer, researchers investigated the effect of lycopene and β-carotene on the viability of EC109 human esophageal squamous carcinoma cells.

According to the results from the tested assays, lycopene and β-carotene (5-40 µM) at a dose- and time-dependent showed a significant effect in reducing the viability of the EC109 cells.

Furthermore, lycopene and β-carotene also exhibited the enzyme expression of PPARγ associated with the inhibition of cancer migration and angiogenesis and protein p21 associated with cell cycle arrest and apoptosis regulation.

Moreover, lycopene and β-carotene also inhibited the protein associated with cell cycle division and tumor cell repopulation.

Based on the results, researchers said, " the inhibition of EC109 cell viability by lycopene and β-carotene involves PPARγ signaling pathways and the modulation of p21WAF1/CIP1, cyclin D1, and COX-2 expression".

Additionally, in the study by the Zhejiang University to compare the higher intake of beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lycopene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin reduced esophageal cancer risk, researchers found that 

* The pooled ORs of esophageal cancer risk are 0.58 (95% CI 0.44, 0.77), 0.81 (95% CI 0.70, 0.94), 0.75 (95% CI 0.64, 0.86), 0.80 (95% CI 0.66, 0.97), and 0.71 (95% CI 0.59, 0.87), respectively.

* Alpha-carotene, lycopene, and beta-cryptoxanthin showed protection against esophageal squamous cell cancer, and beta-carotene showed protective effects against esophageal adenocarcinoma in studies located in Europe and North America, according to the subgroup analysis.

Collectively, researchers wrote, " Alpha-carotene, lycopene, and beta-cryptoxanthin showed protection against esophageal squamous cell cancer. This meta-analysis suggested that higher intake of carotenoids (beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lycopene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin) is associated with a lower risk of esophageal cancer".

Taken altogether, lycopene used alone or combined with another herbal remedy may be considered supplements for the prevention and treatment of esophageal 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) Suppressive effects of lycopene and β-carotene on the viability of the human esophageal squamous carcinoma cell line EC109 by Ngoc NB1,2, Lv P1,3, Zhao WE. (PubMed)
(2) Carotenoid intake and esophageal cancer risk: a meta-analysis by Ge XX1, Xing MY, Yu LF, Shen P. (PubMed)
(3) Most common Types of Cancer -Cancer of Esophagus/Esophageal cancer by Kyle J. Norton