Dietary and herbal supplements provide a large group of potential chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of various cancers, including breast cancer. Artemisinin is one such compound. Derived from a Chinese herb, Artemisia annua or sweet wormwood, artemisinin is an FDA-approved anti-malarial medication. Some researchers have said that artemisinin also has strong anti-cancer effects, blocking cancer cell growth and increasing cancer cell death. Consult your doctor before trying any new herbal supplements..
Artemisinin & Iron
In the presence of iron artemisinin becomes toxic to some cells a pair of studies notes. Breast cancer, like many cancers, has very high levels of iron. As described in the Novermber 2001 issue of "Life Sciences," Dr. N.P. Singh found that this high level of iron can allow artemisinin to selectively kill human breast cancer cells but not normal cells. In the October 2009 issue of "Anticancer Research", a study led by Dr. H Lai, noted the iron dependent-toxic effect of artemisinin was observed in a breast cancer model involving laboratory rats.
Estrogen
Estrogen plays an important role in the induction of breast cancer. In the September 2008 issue of "Carcinogenesis," Dr. Shyam N. Sundar reports in his study that artemisinin will decrease the level of estrogen receptors in human breast cancer cell lines. Sundar found that by decreasing the expression of these proteins, artemisinin effectively blocked the ability of estrogen to induce breast cancer growth.
Immune Regulation
Artemisinin doesn't just kill tumor cells, as described by Dr. Ladan Langroudi in the the September 2010 issue of "International Immunopharmacology," but also artemisinin can block the ability of important immune system cells known as T-cells to enter the breast cancer tumor site. T-cells normally will kill diseased cells, but during breast cancer, according to Langroudi, these T-cells go haywire. Their presence can have the opposite effect and actually cause breast cancer to be more aggressive. By blocking these T-cells, artemisinin may decrease the aggressive nature of the breast cancer tumor.
Warnings
Most studies involving artemisinin and breast cancer were performed in animals or on cells, not humans. The research may not apply to human health. To truly understand the effectiveness and the safety of artemisinin, more extensive research is necessary. Additionally artemisinin use is not without its toxicity. Artemisinin may have negative effects on the liver, kidneys and brain. Be careful when trying any new herbal medication. Consult your doctor.
References
- "Life Sciences"; Selective Toxicity of Dihydroartemisinin and Holotransferrin Toward Human Breast Cancer Cells; N.P. Singh, et.al; November 2001
- "Anticancer Research"; Artemisinin-transferrin Conjugate Retards Growth of Breast Tumors in the Rat; H Lai, et.al; October 2009
- "Carcinogenesis"; Artemisinin Selectively Decreases Functional Levels of Estrogen Receptor-alpha and Ablates Estrogen-induced Proliferation in Human Breast Cancer Cells; Shyam N. Sundar, et.al; September 2008
- "International Immunopharmacology"; A Comparison of Low-dose Cyclophosphamide Treatment with Artemisinin Treatment in Reducing the Number of Regulatory T Cells in Murine Breast Cancer Model; Ladan Langroudi, et.al.; September 2010
