A study finds that sea cucumber wipes out 95% of breast cancer cells and reduces lung tumors
In vitro, a new study demonstrates that sea cucumber extract kills up to 95% of breast cancer cells, 90% of melanoma cells, 95% of liver cancer cells, and 88% of lung cancer cells. Additionally, the extract stimulates the immune system against cancer and inhibits key metastasis-required processes. While the science behind this is relatively new to Western medicine, the sea cucumber has been used for centuries in Chinese medicine, Naturalnews reports.
Multiple cancer cell lines are killed by extracts of sea cucumber
Sea cucumber extracts have demonstrated strong toxicity against lung, prostate, pancreatic, colon, liver, breast, and skin cancer cells, as well as leukemia and glioblastoma, in previous research. Researchers have identified frondoside A, a triterpenoid responsible for the anti-cancer properties of sea cucumbers.
The anti-cancer effects of frondoside A have been confirmed on an entirely new level by a recent study. Between 90 to 95 percent of breast cancer, melanoma cells, and liver cancer cells were destroyed. Whilst 85 to 88 percent of lung cancer cells were wiped out in the lab.
However, this compound’s benefits are not limited to directly inducing programmed cell death (apoptosis). It also prevents cancer from spreading by inhibiting cell migration and invasion and angiogenesis (the ability of tumors to grow new blood vessels to obtain nutrients). The ability of frondoside A to activate our immune system’s natural killer cells to attack cancer cells is even more intriguing. This has been demonstrated for breast cancer in particular, but it may apply to all cancers because the immune system is not directly involved. This may explain in part why frondoside A was so effective at shrinking lung tumors in mice that it rivaled the performance of chemotherapy drugs.
Lung tumor shrinkage is comparable to chemotherapeutics but without the side effects
In vitro, Frondoside A is highly cytotoxic against three distinct types of lung cancer, including NCI-H460Luc2, LNM35 (non-small cell lung cancer), and A459 (epithelial adenocarcinoma). And when administered to mice with xenografted human non-small cell lung cancer, it shrunk tumors by forty percent in ten days. This compares favorably to the 47% reduction achieved with a standard chemotherapy drug.
However, this is the only similarity between the two compounds. This study’s chemotherapy drug is known to damage DNA and cause severe side effects, such as kidney damage and immunosuppression; it may also induce leukemia in the patient. According to the researchers, Frondoside A stimulates the immune system, effectively kills leukemia cells, and produced no visible side effects in mice, all at a fraction of the cost of chemotherapy.
The most impressive aspect of this study was that this was accomplished with an extremely low dose of frondoside A – less than one milligram for a 75-kilogram adult. Notable also is that frondoside A administered in conjunction with the chemotherapeutic agent shrunk the tumor by a remarkable 68 percent.
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The future of sea cucumber as a cancer-fighting natural remedy
Extract of sea cucumber is a highly promising natural cancer treatment. Currently, there are two clinical trials using it (along with other natural extracts) to treat myeloma and multiple myeloma, but additional trials against breast and lung cancer are required, to begin with. In the interim, dried and powdered cucumber is available in North America in dietary supplements designed to treat inflammatory conditions (such as arthritis) because sea cucumber is a rich source of chondroitin.
