A recent study done by a researcher at the University of Missouri showed that resveratrol, a compound found in grape skin and red wine, can make certain tumor cells more susceptible to radiation treatment. This research, done with melanoma cells, follows a previous study done at the same university which found similar results in the treatment of prostate cancer. The study investigated how resveratrol and radiotherapy inhibit the survival of melanoma cells. Results showed that when treated with resveratrol alone 44% of the tumor cells were killed and in combination with radiation 65% of tumor cells died.
Michael Nicoll, assistant professor of surgery at Missouri University School of Medicine and surgical oncologist at Ellis Fischer Cancer Center, said "his find finding could lead to more research into the cancer fighting benefits of the naturally occurring compound." However resveratrol's "delivery" to tumor sites can be "tricky due to the nature of how the cancer cells travel throughout the body." If additional studies continue with success officials at Missouri University will request federal authorization to submit it as a investigative new drug and conduct clinical trials with the hope of developing new cancer treatments.
In the fight against cancer many doctors and scientists have turned back to the natural world and found compounds that have proven useful for treatment such as paclitaxel - a mitotic inhibitor isolated from Pacific yew trees. In the growing field of oncology, discoveries such as this can be invaluable in the fight against cancer.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131011135341.htm
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/druginfo/paclitaxel
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