Interactions of Black Cohosh with Cancer Therapy

描述（由申请人提供） 黑升麻（Cimicifuga racemosa）是一种广泛使用的草药，通常被认为是一种安全有效的天然药物，用于治疗医生建议避免激素替代疗法（HRT）的妇女的更年期症状，因为她们患乳腺癌的风险很高，或者因为她们被诊断患有乳腺癌而停止HRT。这种草药的一些供应商建议黑升麻“可能有助于”乳腺癌。这种草药被乳腺癌患者广泛使用，而他们正在接受化疗和放射治疗。我们实验室的研究表明，三种市售的黑升麻提取物显着增加细胞培养物中的乳腺癌细胞对阿霉素的反应。 对其中一种浸提液的进一步试验显示，对泰索帝中度致敏，对顺铂轻微保护，对放射敏感性无明显影响。这个项目的目标是研究这些发现的治疗意义。一种经过充分表征的可移植同基因肿瘤宿主系统，即在SPF BALB/c Rw小鼠中生长的EMT 6小鼠乳腺癌，将用于研究黑升麻对体内肿瘤和正常组织对癌症治疗反应的影响。将使用定量实验评估对肿瘤的作用，其中测量并比较对照肿瘤、单独用药物治疗的肿瘤和用黑升麻加药物治疗的肿瘤的生长。我们还将研究这些治疗对骨髓祖细胞（CFU-GM/MK）存活的影响，骨髓是一种限制癌症化疗强度的组织。另一系列研究将检查黑升麻提取物对阿霉素、泰索帝、顺铂和辐射对细胞培养中的人类乳腺癌细胞的毒性的影响。这些研究将评估在小鼠细胞中观察到的效应是否也发生在人类细胞中。我们过去的研究数据表明，这种草药可以改变标准癌症化疗药物治疗癌症的有效性，并可以改变这些药物的毒性。本项目将评估这些可能性。研究结果将显示这种草药是否无活性和无害，对乳腺癌患者有潜在危险，或者在治疗这种疾病方面有潜在价值。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant) Black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa), is a widely used herbal medicine which is often assumed to be a safe and effective natural remedy for menopausal symptoms in women who have been advised by their doctors to avoid hormone replacement therapy (HRT) because they are at high risk for breast cancer or to discontinue HRT because they have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Some vendors of this herb advise that black cohosh "may help" breast cancer. This herb is widely used by breast cancer patients while they are receiving chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Studies in our laboratory showed that three commercially available black cohosh extracts significantly increase the response of breast cancer cells in cell culture to Adriamycin. Further tests with one of these extracts showed moderate sensitization to Taxotere, slight protection from Cisplatin, and no discernable effect on radiosensitivity. The goal of this project is to examine the therapeutic implications of these findings. A well characterized transplantable syngeneic tumor host system, the EMT6 mouse mammary carcinoma growing in SPF BALB/c Rw mice, will be used to study the effect of black cohosh on the response of tumors and normal tissues in vivo to cancer therapy. Effects on tumors will be assessed using quantitative experiments in which the growth of control tumors, tumors treated with drug alone, and tumors treated with black cohosh plus drug is measured and compared. We will also examine the effects of these treatments on the survival of the progenitor cells (CFU-GM/MK) of the bone marrow, a tissue which limits the intensity of cancer chemotherapy. Another series of studies will examine the effect of black cohosh extracts on the toxicity of Adriamycin, Taxotere, Cisplatin and radiation to human breast cancer cells in cell culture. These studies will assess whether the effects seen in mouse cells also occur in human cells. Data from our past studies suggest that this herb could change the effectiveness of standard cancer chemotherapeutic agents in treating cancer and could alter the toxicities of these drugs. This project will assess these possibilities. The findings will show whether this herb is inactive and harmless, potentially dangerous to breast cancer patients, or of potential value in the treatment of this disease.