"These studies are extremely important and must be continued to help us understand better ways of preventing cancer which do not require extraordinary measures," said Raymond DuBois, M.D., Ph.D., of Vanderbilt University, and program chairperson of the meeting. "We're hoping that, armed with this information, individuals will become more proactive about their health on a daily basis, in consultation with their doctors."
Ginger is an Effective Inhibitor of HCT116 Human Colorectal Carcinoma (Abstract 1345)
The ginger family has been used for thousands of years in the treatment and prevention of various illnesses, and has been hypothesized to have anti-cancer and therapeutic properties. Ann M. Bode, Ph.D. and Zigang Dong, Ph.D., researchers at the Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, recently determined that ginger compounds may be effective in preventing and potentially treating colorectal cancer. The theory was tested on human colorectal carcinoma cells (HCT116) in athymic nude mice, that are incapable of rejecting implanted human tumor cells. Prior to tumor cell injection, mice were fed either 500 micrograms of [6]-gingerol (the source of ginger's spiciness) or .001 percent ethanol in water (control) three times per week for two weeks. Following injection, the mice were fed the same ratios. Mice were weighed and tumors were measured by calipers twice each week.
Overall results showed that tumor development was significantly slower in those mice fed [6]-gingerol.
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Contact: Aimee Frank
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American Association for Cancer Research
28-Oct-2003