Honeybee venom, a weapon against the Breast cancer.

As we are already aware that Cancer is one of the most adaptive and life-threatening enemies. If we look at 2020 statistics, breast cancer patients have greatly increased in recent years about 2.26 million cases worldwide. The 5-year survival rate for breast cancer patients has greatly increased in recent years and is currently about 90%. About 1 in 28 women are likely to develop breast cancer during their lifetime. and about only 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and about 1 in 39 women die from this disease. Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer affecting women around the world. Breast cancer is a disease in which cells in the breast grow continuously out of control. Breast cancer has become the second most common cause of cancer-related death in countries. The exact cause of this breast cancer is unknown. However several factors affect the risk Of developing breast cancer. The chances of developing breast cancer may depend on the combination of genes, our lifestyle, habit, our choice, and even the environment in which we dwell.

Some of Risk factors affecting the Breast Cancer.

1. AGE

The risk of developing breast cancer increases with age. About 8 out of 10 cases of breast cancer happen with women over around age of 50 who have been through menopause. All women around 50 to 70 years of age should be screened for breast cancer every 3 years as part of the NHS breast screening Programme.

2. HORMONES

The female hormone estrogen can sometimes stimulate breast cancer cells and can cause them to grow. The risk of developing breast cancer may rise slightly with the amount of estrogen your body is exposed to. For example, if you start menarche at a young age of 12 and experience menopause later than average of around 55, therefore you will have been exposed to estrogen over a longer period of time and in the same way, not having children or having children at later in life might slightly develop the risk of breast cancer.

3 . GENETIC MUTATIONS

Inherited changes, such as mutations to certain genes, such as BRCA1 and BRCA2.Women who have inherited these genetic changes are at higher risk of breast cancer.

LIFESTYLE FACTORS.

1. BEING OBESE OR OVERWEIGHT

If you have experienced the menopause and are overweight, you may have slightly the risk of developing the breast cancer.

2. ALCOHOL

Drinking alcohol increases the risk of getting breast cancer.

3. RADIATION

Women who had experienced radiation therapy like treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, before the age of 30 have a risk of getting breast cancer in their later stages of life.

These are some of the risk factors known to affect your likelihood of developing breast cancer. Some of these you can’t do anything about, but you can help lower your risk of breast cancer by taking care of your health by keeping a healthy weight, regular exercise changing your life habits etc.

Some of the Cancer subtypes such as Triple negative and HER2-enriched breast cancer accounts for disproportionate for number of deaths in women with this disease. This triple negative breast cancer is one of the most aggressive form and hard to treat type of forms . It accounts for 10-15% of all the breast cancer. Treating this Triple negative and HER2 involves chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. As we are already aware that these medication could kill most of normal cells and have less results. Hence currently there are no clinically effective targeted therapies for this. Thus the survival rates are less with Triple negative breast cancer.

But, a new outbreaking study found that venom from honeybee could destroy these aggressive and resistant breast cancer cells. Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research in Western Australia found that honeybee venom and its active component is known as melittin could kill these aggressive and hard to treat a type of cancer, with negligible effects on normal cells. Bee venom has the extraordinary property of anticancer. Researchers said honeybee venom has proven to be extremely potential at concentrations that are not as damaging to normal cells. Melittin is a naturally occurring substance in honeybee venom. It is the molecule that creates the painful sensation of a bee’s sting. This compound on its own was found to be effective in disrupting the cancer cells’ growth. This Melittin compound even acts on a wide range of tumors including lung, ovarian and pancreatic cancers.

How it actually worked ?

The study showed a specific concentration of venom killed 100% of triple-negative breast cancer and HER2 -enriched breast cancer cells. For the study, bees were put to sleep with Carbon dioxide. Later they were kept on ice before the venom was extracted and injected into tumors. When they injected, they observed Melittin impedes the chemical messages that trigger signaling pathways within breast cancer cells to reduce cell growth and replication all within 20 minutes. Melittin modulated the signaling in breast cancer cells by suppressing the activation of receptor that is commonly overexpressed in triple-negative breast cancer. Scientists produced Melittin synthetically in labs. They combined it with existing chemotherapy drugs such as Docetaxel. This Melittin compound enters the surface of the cell or plasma membrane and forms pores causing cells to die. This result was achieved within 60 minutes. The venom had very minimal effect on normal healthy cells. As result, it worked effectively in reducing tumor growth cells in mice and they hope the discovery could lead to the development of treatment for triple-negative breast cancer. So that, humans can live forever and healthier life.

THUS, this provides a wonderful example of where compounds in nature can be used to treat human diseases to solve real-world problems. The natural product could be efficacious sources for the prevention and treatment of many diseases. These natural products from herbal remedies, medicinal plants, and their constituents have been used to treat various diseases including cancer from ancient times. Our Nature has the art of healing and it is an essential part of our health and survival. So let us adopt the pace of nature without harming her.

Ref ; http://www.nhs.uk ,http://www.cdc.gov , http://www.healthline.com ,http://www.breastcancer.org