Modified Citrus Pectin Holds Promise For Prostate Cancer

Main Category: Prostate / Prostate Cancer
Also Included In: Urology / Nephrology;  Clinical Trials / Drug Trials;  Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 14 Sep 2007 - 17:00 PDT

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Better Health Publishing (BHP), announced, the evaluation of five published studies that bolster the current premise by researchers that Modified Citrus Pectin (MCP) is beneficial and effective in helping patients manage prostate cancer. The five studies investigated by BHP include: 1) MCP Induces Cell Death of Prostate Cancer Cells in Co-Cultures with Human Endothelial Monolayers; 2) MCP Slows PSA Doubling Time: A Pilot Clinical Trail; 3) MCP Increases the Prostate Doubling Time in Men with Prostate Cancer: a Phase II Clinical Trial; 4) Human Cancer Cell Growth and Metastasis in Nude Mice by Oral intake of MCP; and 5) Inhibition of Spontaneous Metastasis in a Rat Prostate Cancer Model by Oral Administration of MCP.

The American Cancer Society forecasts that there will be about 219,000 new cases of prostate cancer in the United States in 2007 and about 27,000 men will die of it.

"If you can slow the rise of PSA in recurrent prostate cancer you are slowing the growth of the cancer," said Isaac Eliaz, M.D. L.Ac., M.S. who specializes in cancer treatment at his clinic in the San Francisco Bay Area. "I have been working with MCP and cancer patients for years and have found that my clinical experience is in alignment with the Better Health Publishing analysis. MCP has a measurable beneficial impact upon the health of my prostate cancer patients."

The research supports the findings that MCP plays a role in the reduction of PSA doubling time. Citrus pectin is a water-soluble polysaccharide found abundantly in the white part of the peel of citrus fruits. MCP is created by a depolymerization process resulting in a lower molecular weight compound for increased absorbability. PSA doubling time and the PSA velocity show how fast the prostate cancer is growing after the initial prostate cancer has been removed.

Synopsis of Studies on Pectin

In the first study, Modified Citrus Pectin Induces Cell Death of Prostate Cancer Cells in Co-Cultures with Human Endothelial Monolayers, presented at the International Conference on Diet and Prevention of Cancer in Tampere, Finland - the research demonstrated the ability of MCP to prevent cancer cell adherence to human endothelial tissue. MCP demonstrated more than 20-fold increase in cell death of a co-culture of PC-3 (a human prostate cancer cell line) and an ECV304 cell monolayer (a human endothelial cell line) compared to the control. Since MCP has been shown to interfere with galectin-3 mediated cell-to-cell interactions, this study suggests that MCP may interfere with the adherence of PC-3 cells to an endothelial cell monolayer.

The second study was a human clinical trial, entitled Modified Citrus Pectin Slows PSA Doubling Time: a Pilot Study was also presented at the International Conference on Diet and Prevention of Cancer in Tampere, Finland. This trial evaluated the ability of MCP to influence the PSA slope in men with prostate cancer. Patients who had either relapsed after or proved unresponsive to prior treatment for prostate cancer were given PectaSol MCP at a dosage of 15 grams per day in three divided oral doses. The conclusions indicate a response in 57% of patients, with a more than 30% increase in lengthening of PSA doubling time in those cancer patients with low level PSA.

The third study, a human clinical trial entitled Modified Citrus Pectin Increases the Prostate Doubling Time in Men with Prostate Cancer: a Phase II Pilot Study, was published in the journal Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Disease. This trial investigated the tolerability and effect of MCP in patients with prostate cancer and biochemical prostate-specific antigen (PSA) failure after localized treatment, that is, radical prostatectomy, radiation, or cryosurgery. The MCP was well tolerated. Changes in the prostate-specific antigen doubling time (PSADT) were the primary end point in the study. The PSADT increased (P-value < 0.05) in seven (70%) of the men after taking MCP for 12 months compared to before taking MCP, indicating a slow down in the growth of the recurrent cancer. This study indicated that MCP may lengthen the PSADT and slow down the growth in men with recurrent prostate cancer.

In the fourth study, entitled Inhibition of Human Cancer Cell Growth and Metastasis in Nude Mice by Oral intake of Modified Citrus Pectin, published in Journal of National Cancer Institute the effects of MCP to specifically inhibit the carbohydrate-binding protein galectin-3 on tumor growth and metastasis in vivo and on galectin-3-mediated functions in vitro was clearly demonstrated. MCP, given orally, inhibits carbohydrate-mediated tumor growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis in vivo, presumably via its effects on galectin-3 function. These data stress the importance of MCP as an agent for the prevention and/or treatment of cancer.

The objective of the fifth study, entitled Inhibition of Spontaneous Metastasis in a Rat Prostate Cancer Model by Oral Administration of Modified Citrus Pectin published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute was to determine whether MCP, could inhibit spontaneous metastasis of prostate adenocarcinoma cells in rats. The results indicated that compared with 15 or 16 control rats with lung metastases on day 30, seven of 14 rats in the 0.1% and nine of 16 rats in the 1.0% MCP group had statistically significant (P < .03 and P < .001, respectively) reductions in lung metastases. The lungs of the 1.0% MCP-treated rats had significantly (P < .05) fewer metastatic colonies than in the control group. In vitro, MCP inhibited MAT-LyLu cell adhesion to rat endothelial cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner as well as in their colony formation. The study indicated that oral intake of MCP acts as a potent inhibitor of spontaneous prostate carcinoma metastasis in the! Copenhagen rat.

"The analysis of these studies suggests that MCP is beneficial in the treatment of prostate cancer", commented Dr. Eliaz. "The exciting aspect of using modified citrus pectin is that it is a safe, nontoxic natural product, which is a real concern for cancer patients. So safety and efficacy are two important elements in the use of MCP in prostate cancer patients, as well as in patients with other kinds of cancer."

Better Health Publishing (BHP) is a Santa Rosa, California-based educational company that is dedicated to providing information and updates of scientific research on integrative therapies to health care professionals and individuals interested in self-care.

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