Chemical Derived from
Vitamin E Shows Early Promise as Cancer Drug
Behind the Cancer Headlines®
By studying cancer in mice, researchers at The University of
Texas at
"We have clear evidence that this chemical is directly causing
cancer cells to die," said Kimberly Kline, a nutrition professor in the
Department of Human Ecology who directed the research in collaboration with Bob
G. Sanders, a professor in the
The findings were published in the journal Experimental Biology and Medicine. They result from studies involving treatment of genetically identical mice, which were given the novel vitamin E compound either orally or by aerosol.
Based on earlier, similar findings by Kline and colleagues, the National Cancer Institute is funding national efforts to investigate the ability of this novel compound, RRR-alpha-tocopherol ether acetic analog (alpha-TEA), to prevent colon and breast cancers in preclinical animal models.
Mice in the study were treated with alpha-TEA for 21 days after an injection of mouse-derived mammary cancer cells that normally would have formed a tumor mass and spread (metastasized) to the animals' lungs. Regardless of whether alpha-TEA was administered to the mice by mouth (orally) or via breathing (aerosol), the compound was capable of reducing the primary tumor mass by greater than half.
Kline, who holds the Julian C. Barton Professorship in Nutrition, also investigated how alpha-TEA impacts breast cancer cells using cells grown in plastic containers. When exposed to alpha-TEA, the cancer cells showed only 20 percent of their normal ability to multiply and produce new cells. In addition to blocking the cancer cells' ability to divide, alpha-TEA caused the cancer cells to shrink and die through a process called apoptosis compared to untreated breast cancer cells.
"One reason that alpha-TEA is such a potent anti-cancer agent is that it impacts on numerous anti-growth and pro-death cellular processes in cancer cells but not normal cells," said Kline.
"Our research is promising at this stage, but there's a lot of further investigations that have to be conducted before alpha-TEA can be cleared by the Federal Drug Administration for testing in humans," Kline said.
SOURCES:
Experimental Biology and Medicine, October 2004