AICR & Shapoval

AICR & Shapoval


American researchers: iron may increase cancer cell aggressiveness; cancer cells are avid for iron.American Institute for Cancer Researchhttp://www.aicr.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=7542&news_iv_ctrl=0&abbr=res_
Excess Iron May Trigger Growth. Three AICR-funded researchers are studying iron and zinc to determine their roles in cancer prevention and treatment … Association between elevated iron levels and an increased risk of developing cancer … For example, many breast and prostate cancer patients experience a “dormant” or slow growing tumor that suddenly begins to grow rapidly and spread. Because the promoter of this change is not well understood, AICR awarded a grant to Andre Kajdacsy-Balla, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of pathology at the Medical College of Wisconsin, to study the possibility that iron may increase cancer cell aggressiveness. His research team has already exposed human breast cancer cell cultures to excess iron and observed higher cell growth rates. Dr. Kajdacsy-Balla thinks the conversion of iron creates free radicals that damage surrounding tissues and allow cancer to spread. “Antioxidants, like vitamin C, may reduce the number of free radicals created,” he says. Cancer Cells Deprived of Iron. “We made the unexpected observation that curcumin binds and isolates iron in cells and tissues,” says Dr. Torti. The process of binding and isolating a metal ion such as iron is known as chelation. Her group made this discovery after studying the effects of several natural products. How chelation of iron by curcumin may prevent cancer is unknown. It may involve the special need of tumor cells for iron. Although iron is essential for the body to function, cancer cells are avid for iron. It is required for their growth and DNA synthesis. In conditions of excess iron storage, the risk of liver cancer is greatly increased. Dr. Torti notes, however, that chelation is probably only a part of how curcumin affects tumors. “Studies have shown lots of partial answers to the question of why curcumin inhibits tumor growth. Its property of chelating iron is just another piece of the puzzle of how this simple molecule works.”.

Observations and conclusions of Vadim Shapoval and AICR are coincident. Cancer cells are avid for iron because intracellular nano-crystals of iron need of numerous atoms of iron.

http://www.tutuz.com/ Vadim I. Shapoval