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     Natural Sugar-Phosphate Compound Shows Promise as Cancer Treatment
    University of Maryland Researcher Halts Growth, Shrinks Liver Tumors
   
   What if a common, naturally occurring substance could shrink tumors,
   stop their growth, even make cancer cells normal again? A University
   of Maryland School of Medicine researcher is finding that it can.
   
   In a study of human liver cancer cells treated with inositol
   hexaphosphate (IP6) and transplanted into mice, Abulkalam
   M.Shamsuddin, MD, PhD, professor of pathology, and colleagues found
   that IP6 slowed or stopped the growth of liver cancer cells and shrank
   existing tumors three- to four-fold. The Maryland researchers report
   on their findings at the American Association for Cancer Research
   annual meeting in New Orleans on Monday, March 30.
   
   "IP6 does not kill cancer cells; it tames them and makes them behave
   like normal cells," says Shamsuddin. His research has focused on the
   cancer-fighting properties of the sugar-based compound for more than a
   decade.
   
   Inositol hexaphosphate is a sugar molecule attached to six phosphate
   molecules. It is found throughout nature, in wheat and rice bran,
   legumes such as soybeans, and virtually every kind of mammalian cell.
   It plays an important role in regulating vital cellular functions,
   including cell proliferation and differentiation.
   
   IP6 decreases proliferation of cancer cells and causes them to
   differentiate often reverting to the size, shape and structure of
   normal cells, Shamsuddin reports. "IP6 has striking anticancer action,
   both in vitro (in a test tube) and in vivo (in live animals)," he
   says.
   
   In the human liver cancer cell study, Shamsuddin's team treated human
   hepatocellular carcinoma cells with varying doses of pure IP6. The
   result was partial to complete inhibition of cell growth and
   proliferation, depending on the dose. Treated cells transplanted into
   mice produced no tumors over the 41days of the experiment, while 71
   percent of mice receiving untreated cancer cells developed tumors.
   
   Mice that developed tumors from the human cancer-cell line were
   injected with IP6 for 12 consecutive days. After the last treatment,
   their tumors weighed three- to four-fold less than they had before the
   injections, Shamsuddin reports.
   
   IP6 has moved in and out of medical favor ever since its discovery.
   Its antioxidant properties sparked excitement, followed by concern
   that IP6 binds tightly with important minerals such as calcium,
   magnesium, copper, iron and zinc, preventing the body from absorbing
   them properly. Recent studies have shown that concern to be unfounded,
   says Shamsuddin.
   
   It is true that IP6, when consumed, combines with various proteins and
   other large molecules to form insoluble compounds which are not
   readily absorbed or metabolized, the researcher notes. For that
   reason, adding IP6 to the diet would be less effective than giving it
   in a pure form, dissolved in water and either drunk or injected, the
   researcher says.
   
   "Although IP6 is the substance responsible for cereal's anticancer
   effects, intake of pure IP6 may be a more practical approach than
   gorging on enormous quantities of dietary fiber to prevent cancer," he
   remarks.
   
   Shamsuddin also has tested IP6 on colon, lung, breast and prostate
   cancer cells, on leukemia's, fibrosarcomas and muscle cell cancers in
   children.
   
   "IP6 has a potential for use as a novel preventive measure and
   treatment for a variety of cancers," Shamsuddin suggests. It also
   holds promise for prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease,
   kidney stones and possibly even immune-system disorders like AIDS, he
   says.
   
   Shamsuddin's research was supported in part by the American Institute
   for Cancer Research.
   
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