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Natural compounds found in dark sweet cherries may help slow the growth and spread of one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer, according to new research.<\/p>\n
The study examined the effects of anthocyanins\u2014natural plant pigments that give fruits like dark sweet cherries their deep red color\u2014on triple-negative breast cancer, a disease known for its limited treatment options and high risk of metastasis.<\/p>\n
Researchers from the Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, and College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) found that anthocyanin treatment slowed tumor growth, reduced cancer spread to multiple organs, and altered gene activity linked to metastasis<\/a> and therapy resistance.<\/p>\n \u201cTriple-negative breast cancer is considered \u2018the worst\u2019 because it is more aggressive, higher grade, and has a higher mitotic index, meaning the cancer cells divide quickly,\u201d says Giuliana Noratto, AgriLife Research associate research scientist in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences\u2019 food science and technology department.<\/p>\n \u201cAll these characteristics make it more likely to spread to distant organs and recur compared to other breast cancer types.\u201d<\/p>\n Unlike other breast cancer subtypes, triple-negative breast cancer lacks estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and expression of the HER2 protein, a growth-promoting protein that helps regulate how cells grow and multiply.<\/p>\n Because of the absence of these molecular targets, the cancer has fewer treatment options and is more likely to metastasize to different organs, particularly to the lungs and brain, according to Noratto.<\/p>\n Tumor growth, metastasis, and gene activity<\/p>\n Rather than focusing only on tumor size, the researchers designed the study to evaluate both tumor growth and metastatic spread, which is the primary cause of cancer-related deaths.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is important because cancer lethality is primarily due to metastasis,\u201d Noratto says. \u201cA large primary tumor that does not metastasize may be more manageable, even curable if removed.\u201d<\/p>\n To test whether anthocyanins could influence both tumor growth and spread, mice were divided into four treatment groups: a control group, a group that received anthocyanins before tumor implantation, a group treated with the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin after tumors developed, and a group that received both anthocyanins and chemotherapy.<\/p>\n This design allowed researchers to examine anthocyanins as a preventive strategy and to evaluate whether they could enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy.<\/p>\n They found that mice receiving anthocyanin-rich dark sweet cherry extracts before tumor implantation showed slower tumor growth without noticeable side effects and that treated mice continued to gain weight throughout the study period.<\/p>\n In comparison, mice treated with chemotherapy alone sometimes lost weight, and tumor growth slowed later in the study. When anthocyanins were combined with chemotherapy, tumor growth slowed earlier and mice maintained their weight.<\/p>\n In addition to these physical changes, researchers examined gene expression in tumors, which refers to which genes are turned \u201con\u201d or \u201coff\u201d in cancer cells and helps determine which specific cellular processes are affected by dark sweet cherry anthocyanins, according to Noratto.<\/p>\n The study found that anthocyanins, whether alone or combined with chemotherapy, reduced the activity of genes associated with cancer spread and therapy resistance, a process in which cancer cells adapt to survive despite treatment.<\/p>\n In addition, anthocyanin treatment also reduced the spread of cancer to the lungs beyond what was observed with no treatment or chemotherapy alone. The treatment also lowered the likelihood of cancer spreading to other organs, including the liver, heart, kidneys, and spleen, although the number and size of tumors varied among individual animals.<\/p>\n What tissue analysis revealed<\/p>\n To better understand how these molecular changes translated into physical changes in the cancer, the research team relied on histology\u2014the study of tissue samples under a microscope\u2014conducted by Lauren Stranahan, a VMBS veterinary pathologist.<\/p>\n Using this approach, Stranahan examined how rapidly cancer cells were dividing\u2014a measure known as mitotic index\u2014as well as how much of each organ was infiltrated by metastatic cancer cells and whether that tissue damage could interfere with organ function.<\/p>\n \u201cSome tumors had a higher mitotic rate, so they were dividing faster,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Some tumors also showed signs of necrosis, or tissue death, which can occur when rapidly growing tumors outpace their blood supply.<\/p>\n In addition to tumor structure, Stranahan evaluated immune cell infiltration, including T lymphocytes, immune cells that play an important role in recognizing and destroying abnormal cells, including cancer cells.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we\u2019re evaluating how aggressive a cancer is, we can also evaluate, \u2018is that cancer able to reduce the number of T-cells that are coming after it?’\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Supportive strategies<\/p>\n Their findings also reinforce a growing understanding in cancer research: no single treatment is enough on its own.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019re understanding about cancer now is that no single treatment is going to be effective against a cancer,\u201d Stranahan says. \u201cYou\u2019re going to have to employ a number of different treatments.\u201d<\/p>\n Within that broader approach, Noratto says diet-derived compounds may help target cancer-related processes that are not fully addressed by standard therapies, offering researchers additional pathways to explore alongside existing treatments.<\/p>\n While the findings point to promising new directions, additional research would be needed to better understand how anthocyanins influence tumor behavior, including their safety, absorption and potential role alongside existing cancer treatments.<\/p>\n The research appears in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences<\/a>.<\/p>\n