Written by Chrystal Moulton, Staff Writer. Vitamin C and green tea antioxidant EGCG in combination with chemotherapy significantly reduced the spread of mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma is a rare cancer that affects mainly those exposed to asbestos or asbestos like materials. Due to the extended latency period between exposure and occurrence of the disease, researchers are still learning and discovering ways to fight this very aggressive form of cancer. (1)
Previous treatments using vitamin C and EGCG in combination with chemotherapeutic drugs have shown positive effects in vitro. (2, 3) This form of treatment was named ‘AND’ therapy, which stands for Active Nutrients/Drug therapy. In a recent study, researchers demonstrated positive affects for mesothelioma using the aforementioned combination therapy in mice. (3)
Four groups of mice were randomized to receive either a chemotherapeutic drug called gemcitabine at 150mg/kg, 2,000mg/kg ascorbate & 30mg/kg EGCG mixture, combination of 2000mg/kg ascorbate, 30mg/kg EGCG, and 100mg/kg gemcitabine (also called ‘AND’ therapy), or placebo (0.9% NaCl) intravenously for 30 days. Treatments were administered every third day. Researchers measured the development and spread of tumor within each group as well as various proteins indicated in the spread and development of mesothelioma.
Results of the trial showed the combination of ascorbic acid, EGCG, and gemcitabine (AND therapy) was superior in reducing levels of proteins known to cause the spread of mesothelioma (p<0.01). [Figure 1] Furthermore, the combination therapy significantly reduced the size and spread of tumor compared to the placebo and other treatments (p<0.01). [Figure 2]
Figure 1. P-Akt, p-ERK, p-IkBa, p-JNK, p-p38, pS6K represent various proteins involved in the spread and growth of mesothelioma. Data shows they are all significantly reduced by ‘AND’ combination therapy. (*) indicates significant statistical changes (p<0.01) (3)
Figure 2. Observation of the tumors in mice showed the ‘AND’ combination therapy significantly reduced spread of mesothelioma (L), the amount (H) and size of tumors(G), as well as hemorrhaging (I). (*) denotes a significant difference compared to placebo, (**) denotes significance compared to both placebo and drug, (+) denotes significant difference compared to all other therapies. (3)
Overall, the study demonstrated that ascorbic acid and EGCG worked synergistically with gemcitabine (a chemotherapeutic agent) in reducing the development and spread of mesothelioma.
Source: Volta V, Ranzato E, Martinotti S, Gallo S, Russo MV, et al. (2013) Preclinical Demonstration of Synergistic Active Nutrient /Drug ( ) Combination as a Potential Treatment for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma. PLoS ONE 8(3): e58051. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0058051
© 2013 Volta et al. Creative Commons Attribution License,
Posted May 21, 2015.
Chrystal Moulton BA, PMP, is a 2008 graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago. She graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology with a focus on premedical studies and is a licensed project manager. She currently resides in Indianapolis, IN.
References:
- Smith M, Colby T. The diagnosis of thoracic malignant mesothelioma: practical considerations and recent developments. Turk Patoloji Derg. 2014;30(1):1-10.
- Martinotti S, Ranzato E, Parodi M et al. Combination of ascorbate/epigallocatechin-3-gallate/gemcitabine synergistically induces cell cycle deregulation and apoptosis in mesothelioma cells. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2014 Jan 1;274(1):35-41.
- Volta, V., Ranzato, E., Martinotti, S., et al. (2013). Preclinical Demonstration of Synergistic Active Nutrients/Drug (AND) Combination as a Potential Treatment for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma. PLoS ONE, 8(3), e58051.
