Cucumbers (Cucumis sativus), the Potential Anti-Pancreatic Cancer Functional Food

Primary pancreatic cancer is a medical condition originated from the pancreas as a result of the alternation of cells DNA in the pancreas tissue.

Most cases of pancreatic cancer at the early stage begin in the cell on the surface of the inner lining of pancreas before growing in the size that affects the function of the organ.

At the very early stage of the pancreas, most patients are asymptomatic. However, at the advanced stage, patients may experience the symptoms shared by all cancers such as unintended weight loss, loss of appetite, persistent fatigue and gastrointestinal discomforts accompanied by jaundice, belly and back pain, enlarged liver and gallbladder and blood clot.

According to the statistics provided by the American Cancer Society, in the US this year, approximately 56,770 people (29,940 men and 26,830 women) will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The disease also will cause the death of 45,750 people (23,800 men and 21,950 women) in the US.


The 5 years survival rate of localized pancreatic cancer is only 34%. The rate is relatively low compared to other types of cancer in the localized stage such as 100% in breast cancer.

The causes of pancreatic cancer are unknown. Epidemiological studies suggested that aging, gender, ethnicity, family history, smoking, people with certain medical con conditions as diabetes, are the most prevalent risk found in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Michaud DS in the examination of the rate of pancreatic cancer risk arisen in patients with obesity compared to overweight and healthy subjects over past few decades wrote, "Obesity has surfaced as an important risk factor for pancreatic cancer as epidemiological studies with strong methodological designs have removed important biases and solidified the obesity associations".


And, "Moreover, studies indicate that obesity early in adulthood is strongly associated with future risk of pancreatic cancer and that abdominal obesity is an independent risk factor".
The cucumber plant is a species of Cucumis Sativus, belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae and native to Western Asia. It is a creeping vine with roots in the ground and grows up with the support of frames.

In the urgency to find a potential compound for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, researchers examined the Cucurbitacin B (CuB), a natural tetracyclic triterpene product found abundantly in cucumber antitumor activity.

According to the tested assays, CuB arrested pancreatic cancer (PC) cells in the G2/M cell cycle phase by suppressing the expression of AFAP1-AS1, an RNA gene associated with poor prognosis in cancer patients.

Elevated AFAP1-AS1 expression is found in patients' TSCC tumor tissues and tested cell lines.

Additional differentiation of the CuB effects, researchers found that Cub suppression the tumor proliferation by enhancing high miR-146b-5p expression in pancreatic cancer (PC) cells, an indication of cancer cell suppression.

Based on the findings, researchers said, "CuB suppresses the proliferation, in vitro and in vivo, of PC cells through the... effect of AFAP1-AS1 on miR-146b-5p".

Additionally, according to the results from the Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University,
* CuB inhibited the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in the promotion of solid tumor growth.

* CuB blocked the activation of signaling pathways (PI3K/Akt/mTOR and STAT3.) associated with the cell proliferative stimulation.
* CuB also exhibited cytotoxicity by enhancing t

The protein (ERK-activating AMPK signaling) associated with cellular metabolism and tumor suppression

Taken altogether, cucumber processed abundantly bioactive compound CuB may be considered a functional food for the prevention and treatment of pancreatic cancer, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of CuB in the form of supplements should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal - The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

How To Get Rid Of Eye Floaters
Contrary To Professionals Prediction, Floaters Can Be Cured Naturally

Ovarian Cysts And PCOS Elimination
Holistic System In Existence That Will Show You How To
Permanently Eliminate All Types of Ovarian Cysts Within 2 Months

Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca


Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.



Sources
(1) Cucurbitacin B suppresses proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells by ceRNA: Effect of miR-146b-5p and lncRNA-AFAP1-AS by Zhou J1, Liu M2, Chen Y1, Xu S1, Guo Y3, Zhao L. (PubMed)
(2) Cucurbitacin B and SCH772984 exhibit synergistic anti-pancreatic canceractivities by suppressing EGFR, PI3K/Akt/mTOR, STAT3 and ERK signaling by Zhou J1, Zhao T2, Ma L2, Liang M2, Guo YJ2, Zhao LM. (PubMed)
(3) Obesity and Pancreatic Cancer by Michaud DS. (PubMed)