Chili pepper slows lung cancer tumour growth
"Our studies have found that by giving the mice capsaicin in their food every day we are able to suppress lung tumours in mice models," said Piyali Dasgupta, PhD, scientist at Marshall University and lead author of the studies.
The scientists focused on small cell lung cancer, a fast-growing type that makes up approximately 10 to 15 percent of lung cancers.
"We knew other lab studies had found capsaicin has anti-cancer activity but there was nothing on small cell lung cancer," said Dasgupta. A paper by Dasgupta published this month finds that capsaicin degrades at a slower pace in the lung compared to other organs, such as the liver, kidney or in the blood. "This is good news because that means that there is more intact capsaicin in the lung, which is available to stop the growth of tumours."
Using mice with an impaired immune system, the study induced tumour growth with human small cell lung cancer cells. Half the animals were fed capsaicin daily for six weeks. Compared to the mice eating standard food, the capsaicin-consuming animals showed decreased tumour growth. Further research in cell studies showed capsaicin caused the cancer cells to self-destruct, a process called apoptosis, but caused no harm to healthy lung cells.
One of the surprises of the study was that capsaicin did not use its typical receptor called the TRPV1, for causing the death of cancer cells. This TRPV1 receptor is responsible for the heat sensation we feel when we bite into a chili pepper. Another member of the TRPV family, TRPV6, was found responsible for the anti-cancer effect of capsaicin.
The amount of capsaicin the mice consumed was relatively mild, says Dasgupta, it had the hotness of a New Mexican pepper. Other research has established the amount used is considered safe, but research is only in the early stages.
"This research is important because we are working towards using capsaicin along with standard chemotherapeutic drugs to develop better combination therapies for patients with small cell lung cancer."
Source: emaxhealth.com