Today, odds are that you have had/have cancer, or know somebody who does. Approximately one million people that were alive at the beginning of 2009 have had a cancer diagnosis in the previous ten years. Artemesinin, derived from the little known Chinese herb Artemisia, might be eligible for the growing list of cancer killers via alternative methods of treatment.
Two out of every five people will develop cancer within their lifetime, and one in every four will die. In the United States however, one out of every two men, and one out of every three women will become infected with cancer.
These rates have continued to skyrocket since they were recorded and more people are starting to ask questions and observe the environment we choose to surround ourselves with on a daily basis.
Despite these statistics, new research is emerging everyday that puts into question the only two approved treatments for cancer, which are radiation and chemotherapy. It seems we are approaching a time where the medical community will be forced to open up to new options when it comes to cancer treatment. After all, scientists have discovered that chemotherapy fuels cancer growth and kills the patient more quickly, yet nothing has been changed, both are extremely toxic to the human body.
According to published studies, Artemesinin, a derivative of the wormwood plant commonly used in Chinese medicine, can kill off cancer cells, and do it at a rate of 12,000 cancer cells for every healthy cell.
The compound, when synthesized, uses a cancer cells appetite for iron to make them the target. The great thing about Artemisinin is that alone it can selectively kill cancer cells while leaving normal cells unharmed.
By itself, Artemisinin is about 100 times more selective in killing cancer cells as opposed to normal cells. Artemisinin is 34,000 times more potent in killing the cancer cells as opposed to their normal cousins. So the tagging process appears to have greatly increased the potency of Artemisinin’s cancer-killing properties.
Despite the compound being licensed, it has yet to be used for cancer treatment in humans.
We call it a Trojan horse because the cancer cell recognizes Transferrin as a natural, harmless protein. So the cell picks up the compound without knowing that a bomb (artemisinin) is hidden inside.
The wormwood extract was used many centuries ago in China for healing purposes. The treatment became lost over time and has now been rediscovered thanks to an ancient manuscript containing medical remedies. It kills 12,000 cancer cells for every healthy cell, which means it could be turned into a drug with minimal side effects.
The compound is currently being licensed by the University of Washington. Human trials are at least several years away. Artemisinin is readily available and hopes are that the compound can eventually be cheaply manufactured to help cancer patients in developing countries.
Artemisinin reacts with iron to form free radicals that kill cells. Since cancer cells uptake relatively larger amounts of iron than normal cells, they are more susceptible to the toxic effect of Artemisinin. In previous research, it has been shown that Artemisinin is more drawn to cancer cells than to normal cells. In the present research, covalently attached Artemisinin to the iron-carrying plasma glycoprotein transferrin.
Transferrin is transported into the cells via receptor-mediated endocytosis and cancer cells express significantly more transferrin receptors on their cell surface and endocytose more transferrin than normal cells. Thus, it is hypothesized that by tagging Artemisinin to Transferrin, both iron and Artemisinin would be transported into cancer cells in one package. Once inside a cell, iron is released and can readily react with Artemisinin close by tagged to the Transferrin.
This would enhance the toxicity and selectivity of artemisinin towards cancer cells. It has been found that holotransferrin-tagged Artemisinin, when compared with Artemisinin, was very potent and selective in killing cancer cells. Thus, this ‘tagged-compound’ could potentially be developed into an effective chemotherapeutic agent for cancer treatment.
Results demonstrate that the Artemisinin disruption of E2F1 transcription factor expression mediates the cell cycle arrest of human breast cancer cells and represents a critical transcriptional pathway by which Artemisinin controls human reproductive cancer cell growth.
Artemisinin is currently FDA approved for the treatment of malaria, it’s very safe and easy to use. It is inexpensive and works on all cancers but has yet to find it’s way into the mainstream. It really is time to move beyond just radiation, surgery and chemotherapy for the treatment of cancer.