Cancer
Forsteronia refracta may be the killer of breast cancer
By FC
Feb 1, 2005 - 10:27:00 AM

A new study by researchers at University of Virginia Health System found a plant compound SL0101 from a rare South American plant called Forsteronia refracta that inhibits in vitro breast cancer cells.

This compound was found to inhibit a key protein RSK that promotes breast cancer cell growth. Inhibition of RSK would stop the cancer cells’ growth. This compound, however, does not affect the physiology of the normal cells.

The action of this compound on the breast cancer cells is like the one of Gleevec, a drug for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia. Both interfere with the pathways that signal the growth of cancer cells.

Researchers would like to further their study in animal models and eventually in humans although it will take years to know whether this compound or its derivative(s) is effective in humans.

The study was published in the Feb. 1, 2005 issue of the journal Cancer Research.