Food Preservative May Help Cure Oral Cancers

One of the leading causes of death worldwide is 'Oral Cancer'.  Close to 40,000 Americans are diagnosed with oral or pharyngeal cancer. And oral squamous cell carcinoma accounts for more than 90 percent of oral cancers. 

A new study, undertaken by researchers at the University of Michigan, have found that nisin, a common food preservative, helps in slowing or completely stopping squamous cell head and neck cancers.

Nisin is a natural toxicologically, nonpoisonous and effective food antiseptic. It is a polypeptide which is made of Lactococcus lactis. It is used as a food preservative in a number of thermal processed foods, particularly in dairy products, canned foods, plant protein foods and cured meat.

The Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization certified Nisin as safe for human consumption decades ago.

This study was led by Dr. Yvonne Kapila who is the principal investigator and professor at the University of Michigan school of Dentistry.

According to Kapila, "Winning the FDA approval to test nisin's cancer fighting properties on patients in a clinical setting won't take as long as a new therapy that hasn't been tried yet on people."

This antibacterial agent nisin has a unique ability of altering cell properties in bacteria to convert it into a harmless element.

It is only recently that scientists focused on nisin's  ell changing properties in cancer cells or cells in tumor.

"The poor five-year survival rates for oral cancer underscore the need to find new therapies for oral cancer," Kapila said. "The use of small antibacterial agents, like nisin, to treat cancer is a new approach that holds great promise. Nisin is a perfect example of this potential because it has been used safely in humans for many years, and now the laboratory studies support its anti-tumor potential."

The study concentrated on the use of antimicrobials to fight cancerous tumors. During the research they discovered how nisin slows cell proliferation known as CHAC1 in cancer cells, a protein that is known to influence cell death.

This is the first study that highlights CHAC1's new role in promoting cancer cell death under nisin treatment. This study emphasizes the fact that nisin may work by creating pores in the cancer cell membranes that allow an influx of calcium. What remains unclear is the role played by calcium in nisin-triggered cell death, but it's well known that calcium is a key regulator in cell death and survival.

Additionally, the findings suggest that nisin slows or stops tumor growth by interrupting the cell cycle in "bad" cells but not the good cells; thus nisin stops cancer cell proliferation but doesn't hurt good cells.

The study detail is carried in the Journal Cancer Medicine.