BENEFITS - CANCER

Sea Cucumber Kills Cancer Cells with Amazing Efficiency
by Cindy Murdoch

Sea cucumber can be beneficial in the battle against cancer by killing cancer cells and stimulating the immune system.

What is a sea cucumber?

Consider the lowly sea cucumber. No it is not a vegetable although its name may suggest otherwise. It is a marine creature that lives all over the world on the ocean’s floor, especially in the Indian and western Pacific oceans. It is related to the sea urchin and the starfish. Shaped like a cucumber, hence the name, it looks more like a giant worm, especially since the majority of sea cucumbers have rows of tube feet running down the length of their body. There are over 1000 known species of sea cucumbers with some reaching 72 inches (180 cm) in length!

Sea cucumber, a delicacy used in Asian cooking, is safe for human consumption. It is usually dried and sold in markets as trepang or beche-de-mer.
It has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for hundreds of years to treat joint pain and arthritis (it is a rich source of chondroitin sulfate) and other inflammatory diseases, impotence, fatigue, frequent urination, constipation and as a longevity treatment.

The sea cucumber and cancer research

In 2011, Chicago’s Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center researchers studied the effects of sea cucumber extract on human pancreatic cancer cells. They quickly discovered that sea cucumber was able to stop cancer cells from spreading and it in fact activated apoptosis (cell death) – cancer cells were dying within five minutes of exposure to the extract! This lead the researchers to recommend using sea cucumber extract in the treatment and the prevention of pancreatic cancer.
Since then, in vitro studies have shown that the fatty acids and sapiens found in sea cucumber prohibits metastasizing behavior preventing the formation of new tumors, prohibits a tumor from creating new blood vessels to feed itself, and induces apoptosis (cell death) at very high rates. Additionally sea cucumber demonstrated the ability to activate the immune system’s killer cells to attack breast cancer cells. Since this was an immune response, sea cucumber may be effective in the treatment of all cancers.
Previous research on sea cucumbers has validated its capabilities for killing breast, lung, skin, colon, prostate, liver and pancreatic cancer cells. Frondoside A, a component of the sea cucumber, is believed to be a powerfully key component in the battle against cancer. Recent studies have shown it has shown that frondoside A “can kill 95% of ER+ breast cancer cells, 95% of liver cancer cells, 90% of melanoma cells, and 85-88% of three different types of lung cancer.” Some studies have even shown frondoside A to be as effective as chemotherapy but without any side effects.
Sea cucumber extract can be purchased as a dietary supplement at most health food stores and Asian markets. It may be a single ingredient dietary supplement or compounded with other ingredients in a formulation. The liquid extract is often a part of a joint formula, but tablets consisting of pressed ground, dried sea cucumber are generally available.
Contraindications: Do not take sea cucumber in any form if you have an allergy to seafood, or if you are taking anticoagulants as it may act as a blood thinner.
Why the sea cucumber might be a winner in the battle against cancer

At first glance sea cucumbers appear to be totally defenseless. However, when they feel threatened, they can violently contract their bodies, literally turning themselves inside out, expelling a large part of their insides including organs and intestines. The organs contain a toxic substance that is lethal to fish and other marine creatures. The sea cucumber is then able to regenerate these expelled organs and body parts within a few months. This regenerative power may be what makes the lowly sea cucumber a winner in the fight against cancer.

Source: http://www.undergroundhealth.com/sea-cucumber-kills-cancer-cells/

Sea cucumber extract kills 95 percent of breast cancer cells and shrinks lung tumors
by Ethan Evers

A new study has shown that sea cucumber extract kills up to 95 percent of breast cancer cells, 90 percent of melanoma cells, 95 percent of liver cancer cells and 88 percent of lung cancer cells in vitro. The extract also stimulates the immune system against cancer and impedes key processes required for metastasis. While the science behind this is very new to Western medicine, the sea cucumber has been used in Chinese medicine for centuries.

Sea cucumber extracts potently kill multiple cancer cell lines

In previous studies, extracts of sea cucumber have demonstrated potent cytotoxicity against pancreatic, lung, prostate, colon, breast, skin and liver cancer cells as well as leukemia and gioblastoma. Researchers have identified a key compound responsible for sea cucumber's anti-cancer properties: a triterpenoid known as frondoside A.

A new study has now confirmed the anti-cancer effects of frondoside A at a whole new level. In the lab, it has killed up to 95 percent of ER+ breast cancer cells, 90 percent of melanoma cells, 95 percent of liver cancer cells and 85-88 percent of three different lines of lung cancer. But the benefits of this compound don't just stop at directly inducing programmed cell death (apoptosis). It also inhibits angiogenesis (the ability of tumors to grow new blood vessels to get their food) and stops cancer metastasizing by impeding cell migration and invasion. Even more intriguing is the ability of frondoside A to activate our immune system's natural killer cells to attack cancer

cells. This has been shown for breast cancer in particular but may also apply to all cancers, because it involves the immune system and not cancer cells directly. This may partially explain why frondoside A was so effective at shrinking lung tumors in mice that it rivaled chemo drugs in performance.

Lung tumor shrinkage that rivals chemo drugs - without the side effects

Frondoside A is potently cytotoxic to three different types of lung cancer in vitro, including NCI-H460Luc2, LNM35 (non-small cell lung cancer) and A459 (epithelial adenocarcinoma). And when given to mice with xenografted human non-small cell lung cancer, it shrank the tumors by 40 percent in 10 days. This compares very well with the shrinkage of 47 percent obtained with a standard chemo drug. But the similarities between the two compounds stop there. The chemo drug used in this study is known to damage DNA and carry potent negative side effects, such as kidney damage and immunosuppression, and it may actually induce leukemia in the patient. Frondoside A, however, actually stimulates the immune system, potently kills leukemia cells and produced no visible side effects in the mice, according to the researchers - all at a fraction of the price of chemo. But the most impressive part of this study was that this was achieved at a very small dose of frondoside A - equivalent to less than a single milligram for an adult human weighing 75 kilograms. It is also noteworthy that frondoside A given together with the chemo drug shrank the tumor by a remarkable 68 percent.

The future of sea cucumber as a natural medicine for cancer

Sea cucumber extract is a highly promising natural medicine for cancer. There are currently two clinical trials using it (with other natural extracts) against myeloma and multiple myeloma, but more trials against breast and lung cancer are clearly called for, as a start. In the meantime, dried and powdered sea cucumber is available in North America in over-the-counter health supplements aimed at inflammatory conditions (such as arthritis), because sea cucumber also happens to be a rich source of chondroitin.

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/042506_sea_cucumber_breast_cancer_cells_lung_tumors.html#ixzz39SAN2TrC



Sea Cucumber Inhibits Cancer Cell Growth
by Alina Jagger

Researchers at the Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center in Chicago found out that seas-cucumber inhibits cancer cell growth.

The research study conducted in Chicago showed various effects of the sea cucumber extract on human body like its effect on the growth inhibition and death in the human pancreatic cells. It was observed that sea cucumbers stopped the spreading of the cancer cells as well as assisted in killing them. This effect took place five minutes after they were exposed to the sea cucumber extract. It was found that this extract led to cell cycle arrest and death of the cells in the pancreas. This extract is can be eaten and is non-toxic and therefore it can be used as a nutritional therapy and in the prevention of the pancreatic cancer.

Source: http://ewallstreeter.com/sea-cucumber-inhibits-cancer-cell-growth-3696/