Tea Tree Oil Stops Mesothelioma Cells in Model
|

Tea Tree Oil Stops Mesothelioma Cells in Model

ByAlex Strauss

A recent study has suggested that tea tree oil can kill mouse mesothelioma cells in vitro. This indicates its potential usefulness in human mesothelioma, but more research is needed. Tea tree oil comes from the leaves of Melaleuca alternifolia, a tree in the myrtle family that is found in Australia. The tree oil has been traditionally used as a topical anti-fungal and antibiotic. Laboratory studies have demonstrated that the compound that is most likely responsible for the oil’s antiseptic properties is called “terpinen-4-ol.” In this study, researchers at the School of Biomedical, Biomolecular and Chemical Sciences at The University of Western Australia examined the in vitro anticancer activity of Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil and terpinen-4-ol. They tested the substances…

Researchers Learn How Selenite Combats Mesothelioma
|

Researchers Learn How Selenite Combats Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Sodium selenite, the most common water-soluble form of selenium, is an antioxidant and redox-modulating compound that can kill mesothelioma cells in cell cultures. Now researchers are discovering why it works. This could potentially lead to new treatments for mesothelioma. Investigators from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden previously discovered that selenite triggers the death of mesothelioma cells, particularly sarcomatoid cells, which are the least common but deadliest form of this cancer. In the current study, which was published in the Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research, the investigators aimed to determine the pathways by which selenite kills mesothelioma cells, and why sarcomatoid cells seem to be most sensitive to selenite treatment. “Developing anticancer drugs is difficult,” explains Gustav Nilsonne,…

Mesothelioma and Gene Expression
| |

Mesothelioma and Gene Expression

ByAlex Strauss

A recently published study has revealed for the first time a connection between malignant mesothelioma and the overexpression of a particular genetic protein. In an effort to better understand this particularly deadly form of cancer on a cellular level, a team from the University of California, San Francisco, Comprehensive Cancer Center sought to identify genetic material in mesothelioma cells that occurs at higher levels than the same material does in non-cancerous cells (that is overexpressed). What the scientists discovered could be an important step in developing treatments that target mesothelioma cells in their earliest stages. A strong and consistent clue “In the biological sense, we don’t know why mesothelioma develops or why it’s so aggressive,” says primary investigator Jae Kim,…