Breast Cancer cure news update 2016: Capsaicin, helional can inhibit cancer cell growth, recent study says

Research into breast cancer treatment hit some significant breakthrough this week with the discovery of a potentially effective way to inhibit cancer cell growth in humans.

A team of researchers in Germany have discovered that the spicy molecule known as capsaicin, which is an active ingredient in spicy foods like chili peppers, has the ability to slow down cancer growth and possibly prevent it from multiplying any further. Another compound known as the helional, which mimics the scent of sea breeze, also has similar effect when added into cultured cancer cells.

The experiments were made specifically on the SUM149PT cell culture, which represents a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer known as the triple-negative type. This subtype is difficult to cure since it lacks the three receptors found in most types of breast cancer, which are also the main receptors targeted by successful cancer treatments. This is the type of breast cancer that is most likely to recur even after extensive therapy.

Capsaicin and helional work by activating the TRPV1 (transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor), which would then cause the cancer cells to divide more slowly. Either one of these compounds when added to the cell culture, can also kill tumor cells in huge numbers, while inhibiting the surviving cancer cells' ability to metastasize, or spread to other parts of the body.

However, this does not necessarily mean that eating large amounts of spicy food and inhaling fresh sea breeze can cure breast cancer. However, these studies have surely opened up doors for the creation of more effective breast cancer treatment approaches in the future. There is still a lot to be done from designing a drug that mimics the effects of capsaicin and helional on cancer cells, to testing if they would actually be safe to use without causing dangerous side effects in humans.

These significant findings were recently published in the journal, "Breast Cancer: Targets and Therapy."