Natural compound could improve treatment of triple-negative breast cancer

Triple-negative breast cancers, which comprise 15 to 20 percent of all breast tumors, are a particularly deadly type of breast disease that often metastasize to distant sites.

Now, University of Missouri, United States (U.S.), researchers have found that luteolin, a natural compound found in herbs such as thyme and parsley, and vegetables such as celery and broccoli, could reduce the risk of developing metastasis originating from triple-negative breast cancer in women.

“Triple-negative breast cancers are cancer cells that lack three receptors targeted by current chemotherapy regimens. Because of this lack of receptors, common cancer drugs can’t ‘find’ the cells, and doctors must treat the cancer with extremely aggressive and highly toxic treatment strategies,” said Salman Hyder, the Zalk Endowed Professor in Tumor Angiogenesis and professor of biomedical sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center. “Women with this type of breast cancer also frequently develop metastatic lesions that originate from drug-resistant cells. Therefore, safer therapeutic therapies that are more effective are being sought for this deadly type of cancer in women.”

Hyder and his research team have focused on luteolin, a naturally occurring, non-toxic plant compound that has been proven effective against several types of cancer. Using human triple-negative breast cancer cells grown in mice, the research team tested luteolin to determine if it could suppress metastasis. In the first series of tests, researchers found that luteolin inhibited the metastasis of triple-negative cancer in the lungs of affected mice.

“Mice exposed to human triple-negative breast cancer cells experienced significantly reduced metastastic growth in their lungs after being treated with luteolin,” Hyder said. “In almost every case, the mice also saw no weight loss, which means luteolin has no toxic effects; this plant compound is both safe and effective.”