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Australian scientists say the venom from honeybees has been found to destroy aggressive breast cancer cells in a lab setting.
\nThe venom – and a compound in it called melittin – were used against two cancer types which are hard to treat: triple-negative and HER2-enriched.<\/p>\n
The discovery has been described as “exciting”, but scientists caution that further testing is needed.
\nBreast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women around the world.<\/p>\n
While there are thousands of chemical compounds which can fight cancer cells in a lab setting, scientists say there are few which can be produced as treatment for humans.<\/p>\n
Bee venom has previously been found to have anti-cancer properties for other types of cancer such as melanoma.
\nThe study by the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research in Western Australia was published in Nature Precision Oncology, a peer-reviewed journal.<\/p>\n
What did the researchers find?<\/strong> One concentration of the venom was found to kill cancer cells within an hour, with minimal harm to the other cells. But the toxicity increased for other dosage levels.<\/p>\n The researchers also found the melittin compound on its own was effective in “shutting down” or disrupting cancer cell growth. Traditionally, triple-negative breast cancer – one of the most aggressive types – has been treated with surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. It accounts for 10-15% of breast cancers.<\/p>\n Could it be used in the future?<\/strong> “Significantly, this study demonstrates how melittin interferes with signalling pathways within breast cancer cells to reduce cell replication,” said Prof Peter Klinken.<\/p>\n “It provides another wonderful example of where compounds in nature can be used to treat human diseases.”<\/p>\n But the researchers warn more work is needed to see if the venom could actually work on scale as a cancer-fighting drug.<\/p>\n Other cancer researchers concur. “It's very early days,” said Associate Prof Alex Swarbrick, from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney.<\/p>\n “Many compounds can kill a breast cancer cell in a dish or in a mouse. But there's a long way to go from those discoveries to something that can change clinical practice,” he told the BBC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Australian scientists say the venom from honeybees has been found to destroy aggressive breast cancer cells in a lab setting. The venom – and a compound in it called melittin – were used against two cancer types which are hard to treat: triple-negative and HER2-enriched. The discovery has been described as “exciting”, but scientists caution […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":62820,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n
\nIt tested venom from over 300 honeybees and bumblebees.
\nThe honeybee extracts were found to be “extremely potent”, said Ciara Duffy, a 25-year-old PhD researcher who led the study.<\/p>\n
\nWhile melittin naturally occurs in honeybee venom, it can also be synthetically produced.<\/p>\n
\nOn Wednesday, Western Australia's chief scientist described the research as “incredibly exciting”.<\/p>\n