This discovery suggests for the first time that resveratrol has the capacity to inhibit malignant progression by blocking the expansion of hormone resistant breast cancer cells. In the field of breast cancer treatment, this finding has important implications since many breast cancer tumors eventually develop resistance to hormone therapy.
According to participating researcher, Sebastiano Andò, resveratrol is a potential resource for counteracting resistance developed by breast cancer cells to hormonal therapy. Ando and his colleagues were involved with research from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Calabria in Italy.
In their efforts to study the effects of resveratrol, Andò and colleagues used several breast cancer cell lines that expressed the estrogen receptor. The different cells were then treated with resveratrol and their growth was compared to untreated cells.
The researchers found a critical decrease in cell growth amongst cells treated with resveratrol, while no change was found in the untreated cells. Additional experiments revealed that this effect was related to a drastic reduction in estrogen receptor levels caused directly by resveratrol involvement.
According to Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal, “These findings are exciting, but in no way does it mean that should people go out and start using red wine or resveratrol supplements as a treatment for breast cancer. What it does mean, however, is that scientists haven’t finished distilling the secrets of good health that have been hidden in natural products such as red wine.”