Aspirin Shown to Inhibit Ovarian Cancer Growth
By Biotechdaily staff writers
Posted on 29 Nov 2002
A study has shown that aspirin can inhibit ovarian tumor cell growth in culture by as much as 68%. The study was published in the October 2002 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology.Posted on 29 Nov 2002
The researchers found that the higher the dosage of aspirin added to the culture, the more growth inhibition was observed. Combining aspirin with a monoclonal antibody specific for the HER-2/neu protein decreased the growth of tumor cells even more, suppressing growth by 84%. Expression of HER-2/neu is elevated in a third of ovarian cancers.
The study was conducted by researchers at the University of South Florida (Tampa, USA; www.usf.edu), working in the laboratory of Jeanne Becker, Ph.D., senior author of the study and associate professor in the department of obsteterics and gynecology. Last year, Dr. Becker's laboratory demonstrated that aspirin inhibits the growth of endometrial cancer by promoting programmed cell death, or apoptosis. Continuing studies are seeking to determine more about the way aspirin inhibits tumor cell growth. Dr. Becker cautions that much more research must be done before women are urged to begin taking aspirin to avert ovarian cancer.
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Univ. of South Florida