A nutritional supplement for anticancer therapy
Our laboratory is interested in identifying compounds that may have anti-tumor activities in prostate cancer (PCa) and breast cancer (BCa). We have recently started a collaboration with a clinical group in the USA (Optimal Health Research, Salt Lake City, Utah) which has developed a nutritional supplement (ReaLife+, from here on RLP) that has shown remarkable anticancer properties in two pilot clinical trials, one on PCa (NCT01987999) and one on BCa (NCT02286778). RLP is a mixture of herbs, phytochemicals, minerals, and vitamins, all from natural sources. It is formulated in single use pouches (9,4 g each) and is taken with water or juice twice a day. It has shown no toxicity in patients.
Some of the components of RLP have previously been studied for their anticancer properties. For example, extracts of the Graviola (annona muricata), a tropical fruit tree and three mushroom species that are included in RLP have been shown to have anticancer properties in studies conducted in vitro and in vivo. However, there are no clinical trials suggesting that these single components alone will function in humans, and no in vitro or xenograft experiments have been performed for RLP to evaluate its mechanism of action.
Our goal is to evaluate RLP for its anticancer properties in model systems which can be the basis for larger clinical studies, as well as investigate its molecular mechanisms of action. To that end, we have begun to assess the ability of RLP extracts for their potential in cell killing in PCa and BCa cell lines and have found remarkable cell killing activity in LNCaP and C4-2B PCa cells and MD-MB-231 BCa cells in vitro. We are now expanding these results to additional cell lines.
To investigate whether the results we obtained in vitro are applicable to an in vivo setting, we will use four PCa and four BCa cell lines and grow them as subcutaneous (PCa) or mammary pad (BCa) xenografts. Half the mice will be given water only, and the other half will be given RLP orally, and we will monitor tumor growth. Seven animals per group should give sufficient data to obtain statistical significance of the results based on our experience and those of others in similar experiments. Smaller groups of animals may not give enough statistical power. The cell lines used will be tested for contaminating microorganisms and infectious agents such as mycoplasma and hepatitis before injection. The animals will be locally anesthetized using isofluran prior to cell injection to prevent discomfort to the animals.
If we find that RLP has antitumor effects in mice carrying human PCa and BCa xenografts, we will also evaluate whether RLP can synergize with therapies that are used for these conditions in the clinic. In that case, an addendum to this application will be applied for.
The experiment is applied through inViVO department at Institutt for biovitenskap. As the facility is under construction and will be reopened in 09/2018, we will start with part of the experiment at the animal facility at Radium hospital.
Some of the components of RLP have previously been studied for their anticancer properties. For example, extracts of the Graviola (annona muricata), a tropical fruit tree and three mushroom species that are included in RLP have been shown to have anticancer properties in studies conducted in vitro and in vivo. However, there are no clinical trials suggesting that these single components alone will function in humans, and no in vitro or xenograft experiments have been performed for RLP to evaluate its mechanism of action.
Our goal is to evaluate RLP for its anticancer properties in model systems which can be the basis for larger clinical studies, as well as investigate its molecular mechanisms of action. To that end, we have begun to assess the ability of RLP extracts for their potential in cell killing in PCa and BCa cell lines and have found remarkable cell killing activity in LNCaP and C4-2B PCa cells and MD-MB-231 BCa cells in vitro. We are now expanding these results to additional cell lines.
To investigate whether the results we obtained in vitro are applicable to an in vivo setting, we will use four PCa and four BCa cell lines and grow them as subcutaneous (PCa) or mammary pad (BCa) xenografts. Half the mice will be given water only, and the other half will be given RLP orally, and we will monitor tumor growth. Seven animals per group should give sufficient data to obtain statistical significance of the results based on our experience and those of others in similar experiments. Smaller groups of animals may not give enough statistical power. The cell lines used will be tested for contaminating microorganisms and infectious agents such as mycoplasma and hepatitis before injection. The animals will be locally anesthetized using isofluran prior to cell injection to prevent discomfort to the animals.
If we find that RLP has antitumor effects in mice carrying human PCa and BCa xenografts, we will also evaluate whether RLP can synergize with therapies that are used for these conditions in the clinic. In that case, an addendum to this application will be applied for.
The experiment is applied through inViVO department at Institutt for biovitenskap. As the facility is under construction and will be reopened in 09/2018, we will start with part of the experiment at the animal facility at Radium hospital.