Thyme may help treat deadly cancer: study

Washington: A natural compound found in broccoli, thyme and parsley, could improve treatment of a particularly deadly type of breast cancer, a new study has
claimed.

Triple-negative breast cancers, which comprise 15 to 20 per cent of all breast tumours, are a deadly type of breast disease that often metastasise to distant sites. Researchers from University of Missouri in the US have found that luteolin, a natural compound found in herbs such as thyme and parsley, and vegetables such as celery and broccoli, could reduce the risk of developing metastasis originating from triple-negative breast cancer in women.

"Triple-negative breast cancers are cancer cells that lack three receptors targeted by current chemotherapy regimens," said Salman Hyder, professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Dalton Cardiovascular Research Centre. "Because of this lack of receptors, common cancer drugs can't 'find' the cells, and doctors must treat the cancer with extremely aggressive and highly toxic treatment strategies," said Hyder.

"Women with this type of breast cancer also frequently develop metastatic lesions that originate from drug-resistant cells," he said. "Therefore, safer therapeutic therapies that are more effective are being sought for this deadly type of cancer in women," he added.

Researchers have focused on luteolin, a naturally occurring, non-toxic plant compound that has been proven effective against several types of cancer.
Using human triple-negative breast cancer cells grown in mice, the research team tested luteolin to determine if it could suppress metastasis.

In the first series of tests, researchers found that luteolin inhibited the metastasis of triple-negative cancer in the lungs of affected mice. "Mice exposed to human triple-negative breast cancer cells experienced significantly reduced metastastic growth in their lungs after being treated with luteolin," Hyder said. "In almost every case, the mice also saw no weight loss, which means luteolin has no toxic effects; this plant compound is both safe and effective," he said.

Hyder further tested luteolin and its effects on subduing the migration of triple-negative breast cancer cells throughout the body. The research team tested the cells in dishes that were treated with luteolin and found that migration was inhibited by the plant compound.

"Triple-negative breast cancer cells are highly mobile in the body, which helps them metastasise to other organs throughout the body," Hyder said. "We found that luteolin inhibits that migration and also can kill cancer cells," he said. "We contend that these studies support further investigation of luteolin as an anti-metastatic agent that could be used to combat triple-negative breast cancer and its metastasis," he added.