Blueberries May Be the Next Secret Weapon for Fighting Cervical Cancer

Blueberries May Be the Next Secret Weapon for Fighting Cervical Cancer

By Admin at 19 Jan 2018, 10:55 AM


An exciting new study suggests the treatment of cervical cancer with radiation could be significantly improved upon by adding blueberry extract to the mix. While radiation therapy is one of the most common, and effective, treatments for cervical cancer (alone, along with chemotherapy or following surgery), it has a decided downside: it kills healthy cells in the area along with cancer cells.

Blueberries, meanwhile, are a rich source of resveratrol, a phytonutrient also found in red grape skins and cocoa. Resveratrol has been previously found to act as a radiosensitizer — a compound that makes cancer cells more sensitive to radiation therapy — to improve prostate cancer,[1]so the researchers decided to test its worth for cervical cancer as well.

Along with resveratrol, blueberries also contain beneficial flavonoids, which have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.[2] The study involved human cervical cancer cell lines, which were divided into four groups, one acting as a control group and the others receiving either radiation only, blueberry extract only, or both radiation and blueberry extract. The results were impressive:

  • Radiation only decreased cancer cells by about 20 percent
  • Blueberry extract decreased cancer cells by 25 percent
  • Radiation and blueberry extract decreased cancer cells by about 70 percent

Interestingly, along with reducing cancer cell death, the blueberry extract also worked by reducing abnormal cell growth, hitting the cancer two ways. Lead study author Yujiang Fang, M.D., Ph.D., a visiting professor at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, said in a press release:[3]

“Cancer cells avoid death by remodeling themselves … Along with reducing cell proliferation, the extract also 'tricks' cancer cells into dying. So it inhibits the birth and promotes the death of cancer cells.”

More than 13,200 U.S. women are expected to be diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer in 2018, [4] and though this used to be one of the most common causes of cancer death in the U.S., the use of the Pap test changed that. Getting regular Pap tests can detect cervical cancer early, when it’s still easily treated.

Pre-cancers of the cervix are now detected far more often than invasive cervical cancer, but in the latter case mortality rates have remained stagnant for about 15 years.[5] An innovation such as blueberry extract may be one way to slash cervical cancer deaths even more, and researchers are planning an animal study looking into blueberry extract for cervical cancer as the next step. Fang continued:[6]

"Blueberries are very common and found all over the world … They are readily accessible and inexpensive. As a natural treatment option for boosting the effectiveness of existing therapies, I feel they would be enthusiastically accepted."

Sources
1. Cancer Science April 15, 2012

2. Science Daily December 17, 2017
3. Science Daily December 17, 2017
4. American Cancer Society, Key Statistics for Cervical Cancer
5. American Cancer Society, Key Statistics for Cervical Cancer
6. Science Daily December 17, 2017


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