Posted by Caroline | Posted in Cancer, Women's Health | Posted on 19-04-2010
Tags: borage oil, breat cnacer, Her-2/neu-positive tumors, natural help for breast cancer
CHICAGO — Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), a substance in Borage Oil and evening primrose oil and several other plant oils used in herbal medicine, inhibits action of Her-2/neu, a cancer gene that is responsible for almost 30 percent of all breast cancers, Northwestern University researchers report.
“Breast cancer patients with Her-2/neu-positive tumors have an aggressive form of the
disease and a poor prognosis,” said Ruth Lupu, director of Evanston Northwestern
Healthcare Breast Cancer Translational Research Program, who led the study,
published in the Nov. 2 [2005] issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Lupu is professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
and a researcher at The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. Lupu and co-investigator Javier Menendez showed that treating cancer cells that overexpressed Her-2/neu with GLA suppressed protein levels of the oncogene. . . .
Menendez is research assistant professor of medicine at Feinberg and a scientist at
Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Research Institute.“In our tests, . . . these findings may reveal a previously unrecognized way of influencing the poor outcome of Her-2/neupositive cancer patients,” Lupu said. “GLA’s inhibition of Her-2/neu works in a different manner from that of Herceptin [a drug commonly used in breast cancer treatment],”Menendez said.
“While Herceptin attempts to neutralize thousands of Her-2/neu molecules commonly
found in the surface of overexpressing cancer cells, GLA would be more efficient to
reduce Her-2/neu levels by preventing the transcription of few Her-2/neu gene copies,”Menendez said. “Considering that activation and overexpression of the Her-2/neuoncogene are crucial events in the cause, progression and cell sensitivity to various treatments in breast cancer, results of the study reveal a valuable means by which an inexpensive herbal medicine might regulate breast cancer cell growth, metastasis formation and response to chemotherapies and endocrine therapies,” Lupu said.
GLA exerts selective toxic effects on cancer cells without affecting normal cells. . . .
GLA is one of two essential fatty acids – fats that are necessary for maintaining normal
functioning and growth of cells, nerves, muscles and organs.
Shaklee makes a product called GLA made from Borage Oil. Borage oil contains a higher % of GLA than Evening of Primrose and Flax seed. Borage Seed Oil (usually about 24% GLA) contains about 5% more GLA than Black Currant Oils, and more than twice as much GLA per capsule as Evening Primrose Oil (which usually contains about 10% GLA. It makes sense to take borage oil for GLA so you don’t have to take 2 to 3 times more of other supplements made with evening of primrose and black currant oil.
This information is not intended to replace medical care. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure. This report is not to be used as a substitute for appropriate medical care and consultation, nor should any information in it be interpreted as prescriptive. Any persons who suspect they have a medical challenge should consult their physicians/pediatricians for guidance and proper treatment
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