#Scientists discover #cancer-fighting berry on tree that only grows in Far North Qld

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A dog called Oscar, before and after treatmentA dog called Oscar pre-treatment with the berry compound (L) & 15 days after treatment (R).


Scientists have been surprised by the rapid cancer-fighting properties of a berry found only in Far North Queensland.

An eight-year study led by Dr Glen Boyle, from the QIMR Berghofer medical research institute in Brisbane, found a compound in the berry could kill head and neck tumours as well as melanomas.

An experimental drug derived from the berry, EBC-46, has so far been used on 300 animals, including cats, dogs and horses.

Dr Boyle said in 75 per cent of cases, the tumour disappeared and had not come back.

“There’s a compound in the seed – it’s a very, very complicated process to purify this compound and why it’s there in the first place, we don’t know,” he said.

“The compound works by three ways essentially: it kills the tumour cells directly, it cuts off the blood supply and it also activates the body’s own immune system to clean up the mess that’s left behind.”

There were no side effects, but what amazed scientists most was how fast it worked: the drug took effect within five minutes and tumours disappeared within days.

VIDEO: Berries from far north Qld offer big for new cancer treatment.

“The surprising thing for us and the thing that we don’t see very often is the speed with which this occurs,” Dr Boyle said.

“Usually when you treat a tumour it takes several weeks for it to resolve, but this is very, very rapid.

“There’s a purpling of the area, of the tumour itself, and you see that within five minutes and you come back the next day and the tumour’s black and you come back a few days later and the tumour’s fallen off.”

The berry grows on the blushwood tree, which only grows in pockets of Far North Queensland.

“The tree is very, very picky on where it will grow,” Dr Boyle said.

“It’s only on the Atherton Tablelands at the moment and they’re trying to expand that to different places of course because it’d be nice to be able to grow it on a farm somewhere.

Dr Boyle said the findings of the pre-clinical trials suggested the drug could be effective in human patients.

But Dr Boyle warned the drug could only be used for tumours that can be accessed by direct injection and was not effective against metastatic cancers.

He said it would be an additional treatment option, rather than a replacement for chemotherapy or surgery.

“Elderly patients for example who just can’t go through another round of chemo or can’t go through another general anaesthetic for example, this could be used to treat those sorts of tumours and hopefully improve quality of life for people,” he said.

Biotechnology company QBiotics has obtained ethical approval to begin human trials.

#Scientists discover #cancer-fighting berry on tree that only grows in Far North Queensland « Global Newsstand

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A bit more about the berry;

Brisbane - An observant pair of forest ecologists, Victoria Gordon and her husband Paul Reddell were exploring a North Queensland Rainforest in the early 2000s. They noticed the rat kangaroos were avoiding eating the berries of the Blushwood tree. That seemed odd.

With the Blushwood berries so plentiful on the forest floor, the pair of scientists couldn't understand why the small marsupials would pass up such a nutritious feast.

Then they noticed that a few of the rat kangaroos would bite into the berries, then push them away, as if they had bitten into a mouthful of fire.

The rest is history, of course. After studying the animal's reaction to the berries of the spindly Blushwood trees, they were intrigued. Gordon and Reddell specialize in plant defense mechanisms. They were fascinated that a fruit with such a strong chemical reaction to deter being eaten would not kill the scavenging animals. Could this be something applicable to human medicine?

The Musky rat-kangaroo is a marsupial species only found in the Wet Topics ecoregion of North Queens...

Specimens were sent off to a lab in Sydney for further study. Soon an answer came back to them. The specimens warranted a closer look because of their powerful anti-cancer properties. The anti-cancer properties led to what has become an eight-year study led by Dr. Glenn Boyle of the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Brisbane.

A compound isolated from the berry of the Blushwood tree was used to make the experimental drug, EBC-46. It was discovered that the Blushwood berry killed head and neck tumors, as well as Melanomas. The resultant drug, EBC-46 was then used on over 300 animals, including cats, dogs and horses. Scientists discovered that in 75 percent of the cases, the tumors did not return.

According to Dr. Boyle, "The compound works by three ways essentially: it kills the tumour cells directly, it cuts off the blood supply and it also activates the body's own immune system to clean up the mess that's left behind."

But what is truly amazing about the compound is how fast it goes to work. Besides having no side-effects, researchers noted that within five minutes, in some cases, the drug began to take effect and the tumors would disappear within a few days. "The surprising thing for us and the thing that we don't see very often is the speed with which this occurs," Dr Boyle said.

Dr. Boyle went on to describe in detail what he had observed: "There's a purpling of the area, of the tumour itself, and you see that within five minutes and you come back the next day and the tumour's black and you come back a few days later and the tumour's fallen off."

In a news release on Oct. 7, 2014, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute stated that QBiotics is now undertaking veterinary clinical trials in Australia and the U.S.. It will take final regulatory approval before human trials can take place. Dr. Boyle stresses that "EBC-46 will only be trialled in the short-term for tumours which can be accessed by direct injection or topical application."

Dr. Boyle also says, There is no evidence to suggest EBC-46 would be effective against metastatic cancers.”

North Queensland Rainforest is home to cancer-fighting berry

[harrybarracuda]

The drug companies will be doing their best to put the kibosh on this.

[Kurgen]

they'll buy up all them berry trees

[thaimeme]

The drug companies will be doing their best to put the kibosh on this.

Beat me to it Harry.