Pancreatic cancer disease is one of the most aggressive and deadly cancers. It’s the fourth most common cancer in the US and has less than 5% 5-year survival rate when treated with conventional methods, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In the East, this type of cancer has been managed in a completely different way – by using herbs. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has had success using a herb called lei gong teng or ‘thunder god vine’. Researchers are now showing that this herb is in fact very efficient in treating pancreatic cancer, which gives the scientific backing to a natural medicine that dates back thousands of years.
Thunder god vine (Tirpterygium wilforii) is native to China, Japan and Korea. It’s been known for its anti-inflammatory and anti-cancerous properties. The active compound is called triptolide and has been used to eradicate tumors.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center isolated triptolide and studied its effect on cancer cells. Their findings were published in the peer-reviewed American Journal of Physiology – Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology.
The conclusions astonished the cancer research community and provided new hope for pancreatic cancer patients.
Triptolide suppresses GRP78, which is a protein that helps pancreatic cells survive and thrive. It is found in abundance in pancreatic cancer cells, which might explain why this type of cancer progresses so quickly. For the body to use proteins, a process called protein folding must occur in the cells’ endoplasmic reticulum (ER). ER is a cell structure that works as a transport network. If proteins are not folded fast enough, cells get stressed and ER tries to compensate at first, but it cannot do that for a prolonged amount of time. The cells eventually start dying.
This is where the Chinese herb comes in. Scientists observed that human pancreatic cancer cells and tissues treated with triptolide exhibit a lot of ER stress, which leads to cell death. GRP78 gets inhibited and ER stress pathways are triggered, so the cancer stops spreading and starts dying.
According to the authors, their findings could lead the way to a novel approach to treating pancreatic cancer.
The study was first done on mice, and after positive results, the team moved on to humans. Scientists at John Hopkins School of Medicine also studied the benefits of Tirpterygium wilforii. They discovered that the extract was effective in eliminating cancerous tumors or blocking their growth already when applied in small doses.
The question that remains is how these findings will be put to use. Some warn that they’ll be hijacked by the pharmaceutical industry and patented as an expensive drug. Anthony Gucciardi of Natural Society predicts that the companies will isolate the essential component, nutritionally ruin it, and then sell it for excessive amounts of cash.
To bypass the health money mongers and drug pushers, you simply need to get your hands on the original plant. It’s the safest, cheapest and healthiest method. And it’s been done for thousands of years.
These finding give great hope to pancreatic cancer patients but these findings are only part of the big picture of cancer treatment and prevention. You also need to look at the other part of the picture which is cancer prevention: it has been proven scientifically that what we eat may cause us cancer.
The best American cancer researchers have determined which foods we need to be careful of, and which foods are effective in preventing the disease. I’ve written an article about the top 14 foods that protect against cancer development and another article about the top 5 cancer causing foods to avoid. You should read these articles right now to reduce the risk of developing this disease.
You must also familiarize yourself with the 15 common cancer symptoms you shouldn’t ignore as early detection may save your life – when you neglect medical symptoms, especially those that foreshadow cancer, the repercussions can be serious.
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natural treatment
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