NCI Grants $1.7 Million To UIC For Study On Southeast Asian Fruit

For generations, established physicians in Southeast Asia have utilized the mangosteen fruit to heal wounds, skin infections, urinary tract infections, and dysentery. A latest $1.7 Million contribution from the NCI (National Cancer Institute) would facilitate scientists at the UIC (University of Illinois, Chicago) to research on the fruit and its perspective as a treatment for cancer, particularly prostate. Directed by Dr. Jeremy Johnson—Associate Professor at the UIC’s College of Pharmacy—the scientists would study prior work, which discovered phytochemicals’ in the fruit that has the capability to disrupt the androgen receptor’s function, an important target in prostate cancer.

Johnson stated, “Mangosteen includes exclusive xanthones—a type of antioxidant—that promotes degradation of the androgen receptor. This method has not been determined with any other compounds and this method can help to deal with the very common and severe issue of drug resistance with FDA-certified drugs used for prostate cancer.” In previous studies, Johnson’s team stated that mice administered with mangosteen extract had 88% prostate tumors that were small than tumors in the control or standard group. In the course of 5 Years, the latest funding will make possible scientists examine how specifically xanthones in mangosteen slow down the androgen receptor activity into prostate cancer cells.

Speaking of cancer, recently, a research panel directed by researchers from Global Good—a fund at Intellectual Ventures—and the NIH (National Institutes of Health) has built an algorithm that can examine digital images of the female cervix and precisely make out precancerous transformations that need medical attention. This AI (artificial intelligence) method—known as an automated visual evaluation—has the possibility to transform cervical cancer screening, mainly in low-resource settings. The method was created jointly by researchers at the NCI, Global Good, and the results were validated independently by expertise at the NLM (National Library of Medicine).