Vegetable Compound May Help Treat Mesothelioma with Fewer Side Effects
Phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) is a naturally occurring isothiocyanate. Brussels sprouts, watercress, radishes and capers all get their characteristic flavors from isothiocyanates. Noting that PEITC has shown promising results against several other types of cancer, doctors at Universite Nantes tested it alone and in combination with cisplatin on nine lines of pleural mesothelioma and on healthy mesothelial cells. Some of the cells had been co-cultured with M2 macrophages, immune system cells that promote cell proliferation. Both PEITC and cisplatin were toxic to mesothelioma cells and that toxicity increased as the dose increased. But together, the two compounds were even more powerful, not only increasing each other’s anti-cancer effects but preventing the emergence of treatment resistant mesothelioma cells. Just as importantly, the…