Cervical cancer news

Wednesday June 4, 2014 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study in Plant Science Today suggests that a compound isolated from a Chinese medicinal herb shows promise in treating cervical cancer.

Acetylshikonin was isolated from Lithospermum erythrorhizon Sieb. et Zucc. a folk medicine that has been used to treat cervical cancer safely for a long history in China.

The study conducted on human cervical cancer Siha cells found that the herbal compound inhibited cell growth in a dose-dependent manner.

Acetylshikonin "arrested the cell cycle by blocking transition from S phase to G2/M phase and induced apoptosis of Siha cell through activating caspase-3 and caspase-8," researchers reported.

The study concluded "acetylshikonin can be taken as a promising natural lead for cervical cancer."

Cervical cancer is relatively rare, but can be deadly, compared with breast cancer.   Each year in the United States, the cancer is diagnosed in about 12,000 women and about 4,000 women die from it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  (David Liu, PHD)

Reference

Hui Sun, Hongying Xu, Aihua Zhang, Ping Wang, Ying Han, Xijun Wang,  In vitro anticancer activity of acetylshikonin action against cervical cancer. Plant Science Today, [S.l.], v. 1, n. 2, p. 39-45, apr. 2014. ISSN 2348-1900.