Natural Compounds for the Non-Toxic Treatment of Cancer

Administration of Non-Toxic Compounds, in Combination with a Low Carbohydrate Diet, Aids in Cancer Treatment Without Negative Side Effects

This technology consists of natural compounds, which in combination with the implementation of a low carbohydrate diet, serve as a non-toxic aid in cancer treatment. Cancer is an energetically inefficient metabolic disease, with cancer cells needing high amounts of glucose to survive and multiply. Currently, most cancer treatments use toxic chemotherapeutic drugs to kill cancerous cells. While highly effective, chemotherapeutic drugs are nonspecific and have detrimental effects on non-cancerous cells as well as the target cancerous cells, leading to toxic side effects. Advancements are needed in improving the effect of current therapies on cancer cells and in reducing toxicity of current treatments. This technology limits proliferation of cancerous cells, thereby allowing current therapies to be more effective, without adding to toxicity of the therapy.

Researchers at the University of Florida have developed a nutraceutical formulation for aiding in cancer treatment. Four natural compounds, medium chain triglycerides (MCT), epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), curcumin, and sulforaphane (SFN), known individually for affecting cancer-signaling pathways, in combination with a low carbohydrate diet, interfere with the ability of cancer cells to proliferate and have significantly fewer side effects than chemotherapeutic cancer therapies.

Application

Non-toxic, natural compounds for slowing proliferation of cancerous cells during the treatment of cancer without contributing to chemotherapeutic toxicity

Advantages

• Therapeutic companion technology is non-toxic, and allows cancer therapies to be more effective
• Nutraceutical compounds are safe and well tolerated at effective doses, allowing for the combination of two or more in a single administration
• Technology is effective at slowing proliferation of tumor cells and increasing survival rates in multiple mouse cancer models, demonstrating utility across cancer types
• Studies with the combination of these four compounds in a mouse model of brain tumor are promising, demonstrating comparable results to treatment with standard of care as well as a synergistic effect when used in combination with standard of care

Technology

The natural compounds administered as part of this strategy for non-toxic treatment are medium chain triglycerides (MCT), epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), curcumin, and sulforaphane (SFN), alone or in any combination. MCTs are small molecules that quickly metabolize in the liver leading to an increase in blood ketone levels, reducing tumor cell proliferation, cancer progression, and extending life expectancy. EGCG, a green tea extract, downregulates tumor-promoting pathways. Curcumin has anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects, and SFN, found in high concentrations in broccoli sprouts, is an effective anticancer agent. These four natural compounds are non-toxic, along with a dietary intervention, can aid cancer treatments without contributing to toxicity of chemotherapies.

The administration of one or more natural compounds can be used alone or in combination with a ketogenic or modified ketogenic diet wherein carbohydrate intake is limited, which results in lower blood glucose levels, and limited glucose availability for tumor cell metabolism to fuel proliferation. This combined with the administration of the natural products described herein that affect cancer-related pathways, provides a safe, non-toxic, and effective therapeutic aid for cancer treatment.