Combining natural health products with standard chemotherapies as a novel therapeutic for Glioblastoma and Neuroblastoma

Glioblastoma is the most common form of brain cancer with a 5-year survival rate under 10%, while neuroblastoma is the most diagnosed cancer in infants. In addition to the limited effectiveness of current treatments, standard chemotherapies are non-specific targeting both healthy and cancerous cells. As a result, these conventional chemotherapies, including temozolomide (TMZ) and cisplatin, cause severe adverse side effects following prolonged use. Alternatively, natural health products (NHPs) are safe for consumption and may contain many therapeutic properties, including anti-cancer activity. Specifically, Long Pepper Extract (LPE) and Synthite Green Tea Extract (STE) are NHPs with great therapeutic potential as previous work has indicated efficacy against various forms of cancer. We have analyzed the effect of these NHPs in U-87 Mg glioblastoma and SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells both alone and in conjunction with standard chemotherapies. Our results indicate the ability of LPE and STE to selectively induce apoptosis in these cancer cells while enhancing the anti-cancer activity of both TMZ and cisplatin in-vitro. Mechanistically, LPE is both inducing oxidative stress and inhibiting autophagy as a means of targeting these cancer cells, while STE is functioning as a mitochondrial destabilizer. Furthermore, these NHPs may provide protection to healthy cells when used in conjunction with standard chemotherapies due to selective abilities including DNA protection and antioxidant capabilities. Currently, this research is progressing to in-vivo trials on nude mice with subcutaneous xenografts of human glioblastoma cells. If our exciting in-vitro results are confirmed in-vivo, LPE and STE could provide safe alternatives to standard treatments allowing for reductions in chemotherapy dosing and associated adverse effects