12th November, 2012
There is now hope against prostrate cancer, one of the most common types of cancer affecting men globally, as scientists have discovered that ‘resveratrol’, a compound found commonly in grape skins and red wine, can effectively ward off the disease.
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system.
The cancer cells may spread from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly the bones and lymph nodes causing pain, difficulty in urinating, problems during sexual intercourse, or erectile dysfunction, and ultimately, death.
The discovery that solutions to the ailment could be found in grape and red wine, is already causing excitement in the world including among health experts.
It has also be shown that red wine has been shown to have several beneficial effects on human health, including cardiovascular health and stroke prevention.
However, this new discovery coming from researchers of the University of Missouri and led by Michael Nicholl, has discovered that the compound can make prostate tumour cells more susceptible to radiation treatment, increasing the chances of a full recovery from all types of prostate cancer, including aggressive tumours. That is for those who already have it.
According to the assistant professor of surgical oncology, “we found that when exposed to the compound, the tumour cells were more susceptible to radiation treatment, but that the effect was greater than just treating with both compounds separately.”
Nicholl said when he applied the compound, resveratrol, to prostrate tumours, he found that up to 97 percent of the tumour cells died, which is a much higher percentage than treatment with radiation alone.
He said: “following the resveratrol-radiation treatment, we realised that we were able to kill many more tumour cells when compared with treating the tumour with radiation alone.
It’s important to note that this killed all types of prostate tumour cells, including aggressive tumour cells.”
In the report that has been published in the Journal of Andrology and Cancer Science, Nicholl urged that researchers should seek ways to express the compound to make it accessible to everyone since it is very attractive as a therapeutic agent and is a natural compound and something that most of people have consumed in their lifetimes.
He also urged that more research could be done to ascertain his report.
Though the primary causes of prostrate cancer are yet to be known, it has been proven to affect men from age 50 resulting from obesity and hereditary factors.
Globally it is the sixth leading cause of cancer-related death in men and is most common in the developed world with increasing rates in the developing world. However, many men with prostate cancer never have symptoms, undergo no therapy, and eventually die of other unrelated causes.
This is why medical experts always advise that men should begin checks on their prostrate once they clock 40.
—EROMOSELE EBHOMELE