Croton Oil Fights Prostate Cancer 36040

Croton Oil Fights Prostate Cancer

PISCATAWAY, N.J.An active ingredient found in the oil of the SoutheastAsian croton plant12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13- acetate, commonly known asTPAmay inhibit the growth of new prostate cancer cells, according toresearchers at Rutgers University (www.rutgers.edu).

We demonstrated TPA could simultaneously stop the growth of new prostatecancer cells, kill existing cancer cells and ultimately shrink prostate tumors,said Allan Conney, Ph.D., one of the studys authors.The researchers alsotested the effect of TPA in combination with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), avitamin A derivative that has been shown to effectively treat leukemia.

Mice with induced prostate tumors received a daily dose of TPA, ATRA or acombination of the two for 46 days. After 21 days of treatment, tumor regressionbecame apparent in 62 percent of mice treated with TPA, compared to 31 percentof mice treated with ATRA.

All mice receiving the combination treatment showed signs of tumorregression. Researchers also found TPA and the combination treatment continuedto inhibit tumor growth for the duration of the study, compared to ATRAinhibiting tumor growth only for the first 28 days of treatment.

Our studies are an important early step in a long process, and we areplanning additional testing in humans, Conney said. Further research withthese compounds and others could provide hope for the half million new cases ofprostate cancer each year.

The study is published in the March issue of Cancer Research (64,5:1811-20, 2004) (http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org).