Chinese nonmedicinal herbal diet and risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A population-based case-control study

Anticancer Mechanism of Astragalus Polysaccharide and Its Application in Cancer Immunotherapy

Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) derived from A. membranaceus plays a crucial role in traditional Chinese medicine. These polysaccharides have shown antitumor effects and are considered safe. Thus, they have become increasingly important in cancer immunotherapy. APS can limit the spread of cancer by influencing immune cells, promoting cell death, triggering cancer cell autophagy, and impacting the tumor microenvironment. When used in combination with other therapies, APS can enhance treatment outcomes and reduce toxicity and side effects. APS combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors, relay cellular immunotherapy, and cancer vaccines have broadened the application of cancer immunotherapy and enhanced treatment effectiveness. By summarizing the research on APS in cancer immunotherapy over the past two decades, this review elaborates on the anticancer mechanism of APS and its use in cancer immunotherapy and clinical trials. Considering the multiple roles of APS, this review emphasizes the importance of using APS as an adjunct to cancer immunotherapy and compares other polysaccharides with APS. This discussion provides insights into the specific mechanism of action of APS, reveals the molecular targets of APS for developing effective clinical strategies, and highlights the wide application of APS in clinical cancer therapy in the future.

Epidemiology of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: current insights and future outlook

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is characterised by its remarkable geographical and ethnic distribution. The interplay between genetic susceptibility, environmental exposures, and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infections is indicated in the development of NPC. Exposure to tobacco smoking, dietary factors, and inhalants has been associated with the risk of NPC. Genetic association studies have revealed NPC-associated susceptibility loci, including genes involved in immune responses, xenobiotic metabolism, genome maintenance, and cell cycle regulation. EBV exposure timing and strain variation might play a role in its carcinogenicity, although further investigations are required. Other factors including medical history and oral hygiene have been implicated in NPC. Prevention strategies, including primary prevention and secondary prevention through early detection, are vital in reducing mortality and morbidity of NPC. The current review discusses the global and regional distribution of NPC incidences, the risk factors associated with NPC, and the public health implications of these insights. Future investigations should consider international, large-scale prospective studies to elucidate the mechanisms underlying NPC pathogenesis and develop individualized interventions for NPC.

DNA from herbs can be obtained from air and authenticated by polymerase chain reaction

DNA barcoding of herbs allows accurate species authentication. However, the DNA of herbs are often not easily PCR amplified due to co-extraction of inhibitors. Methods have been developed to improve DNA extraction to reduce contaminants. These methods usually require toxic chemical treatments or expensive commercial kits and are labor intensive. In this report, we collected the air passed from the herbs and directly amplified the DNA obtained. Results showed that DNA could be obtained, and it was PCR amplifiable. Sequencing of the amplified DNA allowed species authentication. This DNA collection method is applicable to herbs from different plant tissues. It has the advantages of reducing the use of toxic substances and more economical.

Associations between serum trace elements and the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a multi-center case-control study in Guangdong Province, southern China

Background

Associations between trace elements and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) have been speculated but not thoroughly examined.

Methods

This study registered a total of 225 newly diagnosed patients with NPC and 225 healthy controls matched by sex and age from three municipal hospitals in Guangdong Province, southern China between 2011 and 2015. Information was collected by questionnaire on the demographic characteristics and other possibly confounding lifestyle factors. Eight trace elements and the level of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antibody were measured in casual (spot) serum specimens by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. Restricted cubic splines and conditional logistic regression were applied to assess the relationship between trace elements and NPC risk through single-and multiple-elements models.

Results

Serum levels of chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), arsenic (As), strontium (Sr) and molybdenum (Mo) were not associated with NPC risk. Manganese (Mn) and cadmium (Cd) were positively associated with NPC risk in both single-and multiple-element models, with ORs of the highest tertile compared with the reference categories 3.90 (95% CI, 1.27 to 7.34) for Mn and 2.30 (95% CI, 1.26 to 3.38) for Cd. Restricted cubic splines showed that there was a linear increasing trend between Mn and NPC risk, while for Cd there was a J-type correlation.

Conclusion

Serum levels of Cd and Mn was positively related with NPC risk. Prospective researches on the associations of the two trace elements with NPC ought to be taken into account within the future.

A novel causal model for nasopharyngeal carcinoma

The development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and its unique geographic distribution have long been attributed to a combination of dietary intake of salt-preserved fish, inherited susceptibility, and early-life infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). New findings from our large, rigorously designed, population-based case-control study of NPC in southern China have enabled substantial revision of this causal model. Here, we briefly summarize these results and provide an updated model of the etiology of NPC. Our new research identifies two EBV genetic variants that may be causally involved in the majority of NPC in southern China, and suggests the rise of modern environmental co-factors accompanying cultural and economic transformation in NPC-endemic regions. These discoveries can be translated directly into clinical and public health advances, including improvement of indoor air quality and oral health, development of an EBV vaccine, enhanced screening strategies, and improved risk prediction. Greater understanding of the roles of environmental, genetic, and viral risk factors can reveal the extent to which these agents act independently or jointly on NPC development. The history of NPC research demonstrates how epidemiology can shed light on the interplay of genes, environment, and infections in carcinogenesis, and how this knowledge can be harnessed for cancer prevention and control.

Antiosteoporosis Studies of 20 Medicine Food Homology Plants Containing Quercetin, Rutin, and Kaempferol: TCM Characteristics, In Vivo and In Vitro Activities, Potential Mechanisms, and Food Functions

Dietary nutraceutical compounds have been evidenced as backbone for bone health in recent years. It is reported that medicine food homology (MFH) plants have multiple nutraceutical compounds. Based on our literature research, 20 MFH plants caught our attention because they contain three popular antiosteoporosis compounds simultaneously: quercetin, rutin, and kaempferol. According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), their characteristics including natures, flavors, attributive to meridian tropism, and efficacies were listed. The relationships between TCM efficacies, such as “heat clearing,” “tonic,” and “the interior warming,” and antiosteoporosis pharmacological actions such as antioxidant and immune regulation were discussed. The in vivo antiosteoporosis effects of the 20 MFH plants were summarized. The in vitro antiosteoporosis activities and related mechanisms of the 20 plants and quercetin, rutin, kaempferol were detailed. The TGF-β-Smad signaling, fibroblast growth factor, and Wnt/β-catenin signaling on bone formation and the RANKL signaling, NF-κB signaling, and macrophage-colony-stimulating factor on bone resorption were identified. From food point, these 20 MFH plants could be classified as condiment, vegetable, fruit, tea and related products, beverage, etc. Based on the above discussion, these 20 MFH plants could be used as daily food supplements for the prevention and treatment against osteoporosis.

Diagnostic and Prognostic Potential of Circulating and Tissue BATF2 in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Background: Current biomarkers for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) are less effective for early diagnosis and prognosis. The basic leucine zipper ATF-like transcription factor 2 (BATF2) gene has been shown to have a tight association with the pathogenesis of various malignancies but received scant attention in NPC research. We aimed to assess the performances of circulating and tissue BATF2 in the diagnosis and prognosis of NPC.

Materials and Methods: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) microarrays were performed to quantitate the BATF2 protein expression in NPC tissues. The relationships of BATF2 protein expression with clinicopathological characteristics and NPC prognosis were assessed. BATF2 mRNA expressions in serum and serum-derived exosomes were determined using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay.

Results: The IHC microarrays revealed a predominant nuclear expression of BATF2 in NPC cells. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that BATF2-positive NPC patients enjoyed longer overall survival than BATF2-negative patients. NPC patients with serum and exosomal BATF2 mRNA expressions made up 51.47 and 48.52% of all patients, respectively. The AUCs of serum and exosomal BATF2 mRNA expressions in discriminating NPC from healthy controls were 0.9409 and 0.8983. Patients who had received radiochemotherapy exhibited higher serum and exosomal BATF2 mRNA expressions versus the levels at baseline as well as those detected in recurrent patients.

Conclusion: BATF2 is expressed cancerous tissues, serum, and serum-derived exosomes in NPC patients. Circulating and tissue BATF2 can serve as a multipurpose biomarker capable of the diagnosis, prognosis prediction, efficacy evaluation, and recurrence monitoring in NPC.

Association Between Traditional Herbal Diet and Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Risk: A Prospective Cohort Study in Southern China

Introduction

Prospective evidence for herbal diet and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) development is absent. We therefore evaluated the associations of herbal soup and herbal tea with NPC in a prospective cohort study in southern China.

Methods

Based on an NPC screening cohort established in 2008-2015, information on herbal diet consumption, potential confounding factors, and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antibody levels were collected from 10,179 individuals aged 30-69 years in Sihui city, southern China. Cox regression models were performed to examine herbal diet with NPC risk, and logistic regression models were used to examine herbal diet with EBV reactivation.

Results

During a median of 7.54 years of follow-up, 69 participants developed NPC. Herbal soup consumption was associated with decreased NPC risk, with HRs of 0.31 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.15-0.62) for the highest intake frequency and 0.29 (95% CI: 0.16-0.51) for a longer duration. However, herbal tea was not significantly associated. Moreover, we identified herbal soup was inversely associated with EBV seropositivity among all the participants at baseline, with the adjusted ORs being 0.78 (95% CI: 0.65-0.93) for immunoglobulin A antibodies against EBV capsid antigens (VCA-IgA) and 0.76 (95% CI: 0.64-0.91) for nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1-IgA) in those with the highest frequency and 0.70 (95% CI: 0.59-0.84) for VCA-IgA and 0.64 (95% CI: 0.54-0.77) for EBNA1-IgA in those with the longer duration. Inverse associations were also observed in non-NPC individuals.

Conclusions

With inhibition of EBV reactivation by plants, herbal soup could significantly decrease the risk of NPC in endemic areas.

The anti-cancerous activity of adaptogenic herb Astragalus membranaceus

BACKGROUND

Cancer is the most dreadful disease increasing rapidly causing an economic burden globally. A standardized chemotherapy regimen planned with curative intent weakens the immune system and damages healthy cells making the patient prone to infections and severe side effects with pain and fatigue.

PURPOSE

Astragalus membranaceus (AM) has a long history of use in the treatment of severe adverse diseases. For thousands of years, it has been used in mixed herbal decoctions for the treatment of cancer. Due to growing interest in this plant root for its application to treat various types of cancers and tumors, has attracted researcher's interest.

METHOD

The literature search was done from core collections of electronic databases such as Web of Science, Google Scholar, PubMed and Science Direct using keywords given below and terms like pharmacological and phytochemical details of this plant.

OUTCOME

Astragalus membranaceus has demonstrated the ability to modulate the immune system during drug therapy making the patient physically fit and prolonged life. It has become a buzzword of herbalists as it is one of the best of seven important adaptogenic herbs with a protective effect against chronic stress and cancer. It demonstrated significant amelioration of the perilous toxic effects induced by concurrently administered chemo onco-drugs.

CONCLUSION

The natural phytoconstituents of this plant formononetin, astragalus polysaccharide, and astragalosides which show high potential anti-cancerous activity are studied and discussed in detail. One of them are used in clinical trials to overcome cancer related fatigue. Overall, this review aims to provide an insight into Astragalus membranaceus status in cancer therapy.

The Evolving Epidemiology of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

The epidemiology of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has long been a source of fascination due to the malignancy's striking geographic distribution, the involvement of the oncogenic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), the unique association with intake of Chinese-style salt-preserved fish, and etiologic heterogeneity by histologic subtype.

METHODS

This review summarizes the current epidemiologic literature on NPC, highlighting recent results from our population-based case-control study in southern China.

RESULTS

Findings from our case-control study provide new insight into the epidemiology of NPC, including a diminished role of Chinese-style salt-preserved fish, a profound impact of EBV genetic sequence variation, modest positive associations with passive smoking and household air pollution, and possible effects of oral health and the oral microbiome. Recent findings from other studies include a protective association with infectious mononucleosis, suggesting a causal role of early EBV infection; familial risk conferred by shared genetic variation in the host antibody-mediated immune response to EBV infection; and an unclear association with occupational exposure to formaldehyde.

CONCLUSIONS

To shed further light on the interplay of environmental, genetic, and viral causes of NPC, large pooled studies must accumulate sufficient cases with detailed exposure data.

IMPACT

New epidemiologic findings have reshaped the causal model for NPC.

Effect of tea consumption on oxidative stress and expression of DNA repair genes among metal press workers exposed to occupational noise

Several studies have shown that tea consumption is associated with beneficial effects on human health, which is mainly explained by the antioxidant properties of tea. However, evidence on the effect of nutrition interventions on oxidative stress in an occupational setting is limited. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of tea consumption on oxidative stress in noise-exposed metal press workers. The study sample comprised 24 metal press workers and 24 age-matched control subjects. Metal press workers were assigned to the intervention group consisting of a glass of jujube tea and a portion of raisins per day for 4 weeks. Full-shift noise dosimetry was performed to measure noise exposure with average noise levels of 89.91 ± 2.92 dB for metal press workers and 61.54 ± 1.03 dB for control subjects. Elevated levels of baseline oxidative stress were observed in metal press workers compared with control subjects as indicated by significantly decreased levels of total antioxidant capacity (TAC) (P = 0.026) and total thiol groups (TTG) (P = 0.0001), whereas no significant difference was observed in case of malondialdehyde (MDA). Intervention with jujube tea and raisins in metal press workers led to a decrease of oxidative stress as displayed by increased levels of TAC and TTG (P = 0.0001) as well as decreased levels of MDA (P = 0.012). Moreover, the intervention significantly altered expression of repair genes in metal press workers as demonstrated by decreased levels of OGG1 (P = 0.0002) and ITPA (P = 0.009), whereas no significant difference was observed in case of MTH1. These data suggest that regular tea consumption may protect occupational noise-exposed subjects from oxidative damages.

Anti-tumor effects and mechanisms of Astragalus membranaceus (AM) and its specific immunopotentiation: Status and prospect

With cancer deaths increasing, the initiation, pathophysiology and curative management of cancer is receiving increasing attention. Traditional therapies such as surgery and chemoradiotherapy are often accompanied by suppression of host immunity, which increase the risk of metastasis. Astragalus membranceus (AM) is commonly utilized as one herbal medicine of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) with a variety of biological activities. Studies have shown that the active ingredients of AM and AM-based TCMs, combined with chemotherapy, can enhance anti-tumor efficacy in cancer patients, in addition to reduce complications and avoid side effects induced by chemotherapy. By using various cancer models and cell lines, AM has been found to be capable of shrinking or stabilizing tumors by direct anti-proliferation or pro-apoptosis effect on tumor cells. Further, AM ameliorates immunosuppression by activating M1 macrophages and T cells tumor-kill function in tumor microenvironment (TME). AM is also found to improve systemic immunity which may help promoting efficacy of chemotherapy and preventing metastasis. Thereby this review contributes to an understanding of AM as an adjunctive therapy in the whole course of cancer treatment, at the same time providing useful information for development of more effective anti-tumor medication. The combination of AM and immune checkpoint therapies has a promising therapeutic prospect, and the observation of direct efficacy and mechanisms on tumor growth and metastasis of AM combined with chemotherapies or other therapies require more in vivo validations and further clinical investigation as well.

M. N. Mydin RB, Ganeson S, Gopalan S, Musa MY. The Association between Tea Consumption and Nasopharyngeal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Introduction

Heated debates have been on-going about tea consumption and the incidence of cancer, especially in head and neck cancer types. This study aimed to review the association between tea consumption habits and nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC).

Methods:

This review was carried out in accordance with the PRISMA-P protocol. Literature search for journal articles that published studies on the relationship between tea consumption and NPC was performed via databases, such as Elsevier, PubMed, Science Direct, Springer Link, Google, and Google Scholar, for 10 years from 2008 to 2018. Relevant studies were obtained by applying the pre-determined keywords, such as nasopharyngeal cancer, tea consumption and NPC, risk factors of NPC and benefits of tea consumption.

Results:

A total of 126 articles was retrieved. These articles were subjected to eligibility assessment. Six articles remained after applying the inclusion criteria. Results suggest that habitual tea consumption reduces NPC. Tea consumption significantly reduces NPC with all the studies having a p-value ≤0.05. Meta-analysis showed statistical association between tea consumption and NPC risk with OR=0.865 at 95% CI (0.806-0.929).

Conclusion:

This study suggests that habitual tea consumption could be associated with prevention of NPC development. Additional studies are needed to further understand the molecular role of bioactive compound and potential health benefit of tea consumption in NPC prevention.