Chinese researchers suggest fucoxanthin a soluble fiber may be the next weapon to fight cervical cancer.  They used MTT assay and western blot to screen specific inhibitors of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway which is involved in the development of cervical cancer and found evidence suggesting that fucoxanthin protects against the disease.

Fucoxanthin is a water-soluble dietary fiber isolated from alginic cells. Previous studies have suggested that this slimy compound is effective at treating cancer.

The current study showed that fucoxanthin induced apoptosis of HeLa cells and may suppress tumor growth in vivo.  Additionally, fucoxanthin was found to decrease NF-κB activation, which would otherwise promote proliferation and suppress apoptosis together helping tumor growth.

The study concludes "fucoxanthin may be used as anti-cervical cancer drugs in the future."  (David Liu, PHD)

Ye G, Lu Q, Zhao W, Du D, Jin L, Liu Y.  Fucoxanthin induces apoptosis in human cervical cancer cell line HeLa via PI3K/Akt pathway.  Tumour Biol. 2014 Aug 13.