Resveratrol and Cancer

Resveratrol and Cancer have been the source of study for Drs. Ercole Cavalieri and Eleanor Rogen of the University of Nebraska Medical Center. They published a study in the July 1st, 2008 issue of Cancer Prevention Research regarding resveratrol’s role in the production of cancer cells.

The researchers were quoted as saying “We have found the first step that starts a cell down the road to becoming a cancer cell”, which is quite an anti aging discovery in itself. Their cancer research led them to discovering ways to inhibit this first step.

Cavalieri and Rogan turned to resveratrol in their quest to stop this first step of cancer growth. They found that a combination of resveratrol, n-acetyl-l-cysteine (an amino acid), Lipoic Acid and Melatonin greatly enhanced the body’s natural protective mechanisms. When triggered by the resveratrol compound, the triggering mechanism involved in the formation of breast and cancer cells was greatly diminshed.

Image of a medical gloved hand holding grapes with the words Resveratrol is helping aid the fight.

Resveratrol Kills Breast Cancer cells, Skin Melanoma cells and Retinoblastoma cells

Dr. Arthur Polans, the leader of a group of scientists, is out to prove that resveratrol can be an effective treatment against neuroblastoma, a nervous-system cancer affecting babies and children.

His group at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health has already achieved success in animal studies. Dr. Polans likes resveratrol for neuroblastoma because it’s not toxic to healthy cells and healthy for children.

They’re also testing resveratrol on uveal melanoma, cancer of the eye. With the successes he’s had so far with these anti aging discoveries, he’s confident resveratrol will be important to in finding a cure.

Using Resveratrol to Fight Prostate Cancer (Men and Women)

The April 2007 Blaylock Wellness Report focused solely on the efforts men and women need to pursue to prevent Prostate Cancer. Dr. Russell Blaylock states that 230,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year and 30,000 of them die from it.

He encourages men and women (women in their fight against breast cancer mainly) to get regular exercise, eat five or six servings of nutrient dense vegetables and avoid sugar. He also says both sexes need to take a daily supplement that includes the following:

  • lignans
  • omega-3 oils (especially DHA)
  • borage oil
  • CLA (conjugated linoleic acid)
  • probiotics
  • curcumin
  • quercetin
  • selenium
  • resveratrol
  • lycopene
  • vitamin D-3
  • natural vitamin E
  • zinc

Resveratrol Counter Acts the Effects of Pancreatic Cancer

Another resveratrol / cancer study from the University of Rochester Medical Center demonstrated that resveratrol can help counteract the effects of pancreatic cancer. In tandem with traditional procedures, the antioxidants helped to boost the immunity system, fighting off free radicals and improving circulation of healthy blood cells improving recovery time.

2 Texas Red Wines Shown To Fight Cancer

Findings regarding interactions between red wine and cancer, by Dr. Susanne Talcott of Texas AgriLife Research, were presented at the Texas Viticulture and Enology Research Symposium.

Dr. Talcott’s study showed that extracts from two Texas red wines, port and syrah(or shiraz), decreased cancer cell growth in a comparable magnitude as other wines previously studied.

Wines interact with a newly discovered class of molecules in cancer cells, called micro RNAs, a type of nucleic acid associated with chemical activities in a cell. Some of those micro RNAs are involved in causing cancer.

The compounds found in wine, including resveratrol, interact and “arrest” the cancer cells, causing them to die. The compounds also may work to prevent cancer.

Resveratrol Suppresses Growth of Ovarian Cancer Cells

In a report published on September 8, 2009 titled Resveratrol Suppresses Growth of Human Ovarian Cancer Cells, the College of Pharmacy and Cancer Research at the Seoul National University in Seoul, Korea determined that pretreatment with resveratrol resulted in the marked induction of the eukaryotic elongation factor, which is recognized as a great target for cancer prevention and therapy.

You’d have to read the rest of the report to understand it better, but be prepared – you’re likely going to need a Glossary Doctor as well. The bottom line is this is another study showing a positive relationship between resveratrol and the prevention of cancer.