Daily resveratrol reduced tumor cell proliferation in the colon

Patel KR. Cancer Res. 2010;DOI:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-10-2027.

Daily doses of at least 0.5 g resveratrol were enough to produce an anticancer effect, and suggest that the drug may have potential as a chemopreventive agent.

Researchers recruited 20 patients with resectable colon cancer who were scheduled to undergo surgical resection into the study. Ten patients were assigned to 0.5 g resveratrol prior for 8 days to resection and 10 were assigned to 1 g.

Resveratrol sulfate glucuronide was a prominent metabolite in colorectal tissue of five patients assigned to the 0.5 g dose and nine patients assigned to the 1 g dose.

In most cases, researchers said concentrations of resveratrol and its metabolic conjugates were higher in samples taken from the cecum, ascending colon and hepatic flexure/transverse colon compared with concentrations found in the splenic flexure, descending colon, sigmoid colon and rectum.

The highest mean concentration of parent resveratrol was 18.9 nmol/g in the 0.5 g group and 674 nmol/g in the 1.0 g group, assuming 1 mL weighs 1 g, in normal tissue localized proximal to the tumor on the right side. In right-sided tumors, the highest mean concentration in the 8.33 nmol/g in the 0.5 g group and 94.1 nmol/g in the 1.0 g group.

Overall, tumor cell Ki-67 staining declined from 88.0% ± 6.64% in predose biopsy samples to 83.2% ± 10.0% in samples taken following surgery. When researchers analyzed the dosing groups separately, resveratrol decreased tumor cell Ki-67 staining by 5.6% in the 0.5 g group and 1.9% in the 1 g group, though the reduction was not considered significant.

There is currently a great deal of interest in resveratrol as an agent that may be useful for cancer prevention, anti-aging effects, and other potential health benefits. The study shows that resveratrol and its metabolites can be measured in colonic tissue in patients with colon cancer who have taken resveratrol for 8 days prior to their planned operation. The researchers also present some data showing a very slight decrease in tumor cell proliferation indices post-ingestion of resveratrol. While the study offers nice proof of principle, we should be cautious against making too much of these results right now; how much actual anti-tumor effect resveratrol has and whether it will have any meaningful clinical impact, if any, in patients with a cancer diagnosis remains to be seen.

- Andrew Ko, MD
HemOnc Today Editorial Board member

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