Natural supplement study shows to lower PSA in Prostate Cancer

I came across this article and am absolutely amazed at the reception this natural supplement has received from the medical fraternity. Could this possibly now, once and for all, show that natural products play a significant part in health?

Food Supplement Linked to Lower PSA in Prostate Cancer

June 10, 2013

 

CHICAGO, Illinois — A commercially available food supplement that contains pomegranate, broccoli, green tea, and turmeric significantly lowers prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, compared with placebo, in patients with prostate cancer, a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized trial has shown.

Pomi-T (nature Medical Products)

The study results, presented here at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO^®), made headlines around the world and caused the polyphenol-rich supplement, known as Pomi-T (nature Medical Products), to sell out within hours.

This is a "promising new therapy," said Tomasz Beer, MD, professor of medicine and director of the prostate cancer research program at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, during a "highlights of the day" session.
 

"We have been staggered by the level of interest...from medical professionals and the public," Marcus Williams, owner and director of nature Medical Products, told Medscape Medical News. As soon as the results of this study were released, the company, based in Porthcawl, South Wales, United Kingdom, received a rush of orders from customers in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

"It's awesome," the study's lead investigator, Robert Thomas, MD, a consultant oncologist at Bedford Hospital and Addenbrooke's Hospital, in the United Kingdom, told Medscape Medical News.

"We didn't expect such a big response. People are seeing that this can change practice...because men and their doctors do look at their PSA as a deciding factor in whether to stop active management," he explained.

Previous research has shown that the polyphenols and antioxidants in pomegranate, broccoli, green tea, and turmeric have individual anticancer properties, but "we believe there's a synergistic effect in the supplement," said Dr. Thomas.

In addition, the fact that each ingredient originates from a separate food category (fruit, vegetable, herb, and spice) might prevent potential adverse effects from the overconsumption of one particular type of polyphenol, he noted.

In the lab, polyphenols have been shown to have antiproliferative, antiangiogenic, proadhesion, antimetastatic, and proapoptotic properties, and notably, they have no phytoestrogenic or hormonal effects. "We specifically chose to steer away from anything that might have a hormonal effect."

Because of the supplement's effect is likely not hormonal, future trials will involve men with different stages of prostate cancer and those receiving androgen-deprivation therapy, he said. In addition, the researchers hope to look at the impact of the supplement on other slow-growing cancers and even on cancer prevention.

The study received no funding from the manufacturer of the supplement; however, the company worked very closely with the research team to develop the product, said Williams. "Unlike other nutritional supplement products, the manufacture of this supplement was significantly more time-consuming because Dr. Thomas and colleagues, for whom this was initially made, insisted on a great deal of quality assurance, over and above that normally required by the US Food and Drug Administration or European Commission, particularly in terms of purity and authenticity."

He said the study signals "a new era for the nutritional supplement industry, which has previously relied on advertising and marketing rather than evidence of benefit. Clearly, it's the latter that the public wants."