|
Pregnancy Protein Prevents Breast Cancer?
Reported December 28, 2009
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Hormones produced during pregnancy induce a
protein called alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) that directly inhibits the growth of
breast cancer and may serve as a viable agent for the treatment and
prevention of breast cancer.
"Hormones in pregnancy, such as estrogen, all induce AFP, which directly
inhibits the growth of breast cancer," lead researcher Herbert Jacobson,
Ph.D., of the Center for Immunology and Microbial Diseases in the Department
of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at Albany Medical
College, N.Y, was quoted as saying.
"The body has a natural defense system against breast cancer," he added. "AFP
needs to be safely harnessed and developed into a drug that can be used to
protect women from breast cancer."
The liver and yolk sac of a fetus normally produce AFP. Jacobson and
colleagues sought to determine whether administering pregnancy hormones to
carcinogen-exposed rats led them to produce AFP, which in turn produces the
protective effect of pregnancy, even though the rats were not pregnant.
Results showed that treatment with estrogen plus progesterone, estrogen
alone or human chorionic gonadotropin reduced the incidence of mammary
cancers in rats. Furthermore, the researchers noted that each of these
treatments elevated the serum level of AFP and that directly inhibited the
growth of breast cancer cells growing in culture, suggesting that these
hormones of pregnancy are preventing breast cancer through their induction
of AFP.
SOURCE: Cancer Prevention Research, November 24, 2009 |
