The Effect of Natural Products on the Growth of Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells

Abstract

Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women worldwide. 1 in 8 women are diagnosed with breast cancer,15 to 20 % of which are diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), cancer cells that lack three proteins which are known to fuel the breast cancer cells: estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and Her-2. TNBC is a very aggressive form of breast cancer with high chances of relapse. This cancer is also metastatic, meaning cancer cells may move to other organs such as the lungs or brain. It is difficult to treat TNBC as targeted therapy is unavailable currently. Chemotherapy, the most common form of treatment, is often not the best option because it cannot distinguish between healthy fast dividing cells and cancer cells. Patients receiving chemotherapy get very sick and die of the side effects of chemotherapy rather than the cancer itself. In this project we have tried to explore some natural products for the treatment of TNBC as they do not have side effects and are well tolerated. TNBC cell lines MDA231 and MDA468 were used for this work. Cell viability after treatment with natural products was analyzed by MTT assay. Natural products tested so far are ginger, garlic, blueberries, turmeric, grapefruit and ashwagandha (herb), with promising results for 5 natural products except blueberries. Currently work is being done on exploring the synergistic effects of these products as well as preliminary tests are being conducted on few more natural products like pomegranate, wheat grass, orange peel, and lemon peel. Treatment of triple negative breast cancer using natural products will offer a safe and effective treatment option for these patients.

Key words: Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Natural Products, Blueberries, Ginger, Garlic, Turmeric, Grapefruit, Ashwagandha, cell lines