Pancreatic Cancer Treated With Ancient Chinese Medicine in Experiments

Phellodendron amurense is the bark of the Amur cork tree. It's also used in ancient Chinese medicine. Its long history of healing powers is now thought to have the potential to fight pancreatic cancer. But how effective is it?

The Amur cork tree is located sparingly in the United States as well as Canada. According to Plants Database, the tree can be found in areas of Illinois, Ohio, New York, Connecticut, and the Quebec region of Canada. Throughout Chinese history, it has been used as one of the 50 fundamental herbs in traditional Chinese medicine, typically administered as a painkiller.

Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center discovered that the cork tree's extract could be used to make inroads and fight pancreatic cancer. The herb previously showed potential in treating prostate cancer as well, which allowed the researchers to identify similarities between pathway development for tumors in prostate and pancreatic cancer.

A. Pratap Kumar is the study's principal investigator and a professor of urology in the School of Medicine at the Health Science Center. The study was published today in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. He describes the process that phellodendron amurnese could help alleviate.

"Fibrosis is a process of uncontrolled scarring around the tumor gland," said Dr. Kumar, in a news release. "Once you have fibrotic tissue, the drugs cannot get into the cancer."

Phellodendron amurese extract was shown to have the ability to block development pathways and inhibit the scarring that prevents anti-cancer drugs from entering the cancer. Additionally, it was found to suppress an enzyme known as Cox-2, which causes further inflammation within the tumors. The extract is available as a dietary supplement and has been deemed safe for use in patients with these cancer patients.

The results of this study could witness their eventual integration into cancer treatment because the Cancer Therapy and Research Center at the University of Texas Health Center is a leader in developing new drugs to treat cancer.