New study finds ultra-diluted remedies have cytotoxic effects on breast cancer cells

Abstract

The use of ultra-diluted natural products in the management of disease and treatment of cancer has generated a lot of interest and controversy. We conducted an in vitro study to determine if products prescribed by a clinic in India have any effect on breast cancer cell lines. We studied four ultra-diluted remedies (Carcinosin, Phytolacca, Conium and Thuja) against two human breast adenocarcinoma cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) and a cell line derived from immortalized normal human mammary epithelial cells (HMLE). The remedies exerted preferential cytotoxic effects against the two breast cancer cell lines, causing cell cycle delay/arrest and apoptosis.

These effects were accompanied by altered expression of the cell cycle regulatory proteins, including down-regulation of phosphorylated Rb and upregulation of the CDK inhibitor p27, which were likely responsible for the cell cycle delay/arrest as well as induction of the apoptotic cascade that manifested in the activation of caspase 7 and cleavage of PARP in the treated cells. The findings demonstrate biological activity of these natural products when presented at ultra-diluted doses. Further indepth studies with additional cell lines and animal models are warranted to explore the clinical applicability of these agents.

A full version of the study can be downloaded here:
http://www.spandidos-publications.com/ijo/article.jsp?article_id=ijo_36_2_395