Packed with anti-oxidants and known to have anti-tumour activity, pomegranates are in the limelight again. This time, preliminary findings of a study at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology here have shown that extracts from this fruit could be developed into a drug for estrogen-dependent breast cancers.
Estrogen has multiple actions on reproductive tissues such as breast, uterus and ovary and has been implicated in the development of breast cancers. “Many breast cancers are estrogen-dependent and hence a major treatment strategy is to block the action of estrogen,’’ said RGCB director M Radhakrishna Pillai.
Inside the cells are a group of proteins called estrogen receptors, which are activated by binding with estrogen. One way to block estrogen is to block these receptors by what are called selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs).
The RGCB team was looking at whether pomegranate has this SERM like activity.
‘‘SERMs work by fitting into the estrogen receptors located on breast cells. If a SERM binds to the estrogen receptor, there is no space for estrogen. Thus the cell doesn’t receive estrogen’s instructions to grow and multiply,’’ he explained.
Unfortunately, the currently available anti-estrogens such as tamoxifen used in treatment of breast cancers have side effects, including possibility of inducing endometrial cancer.