Why Fruits And Vegetables Improve Patient Response To Chemotherapy

Apigenin is the element found in fruits and vegetables that is a catalyst that works, so according to this report chemotherapy combined with fruit and vegetables can offer the patient a better over all response.  BD 

The leading cause of death in all cancer patients continues to be the resistance of tumor cells to chemotherapy, a form of treatment in which chemicals are used to kill cells. A study by UC Riverside biochemists that focuses on cancer cells reports that ingesting apigenin, a naturally occurring dietary agent found in vegetables and fruit , improves cancer cells' response to chemotherapy.

Xuan Liu, a professor of biochemistry, and Xin Cai, a postdoctoral researcher working in her lab, found that apigenin localizes tumor suppressor p53, a protein, in the cell nucleus – a necessary step for killing the cell that results in some tumor cells responding to chemotherapy.

In many cancers, p53 is rendered inactive by a process called cytoplasmic sequestration. Apigenin is able to activate p53 and transport it into the nucleus, resulting in a stop to cell growth and cell death.
"In therapy you want to kill cancer cells," explained Cai, the first author of the research paper. "But to stop cell growth and to kill the cell, p53 first needs to be moved to the cell's nucleus to function. Apigenin is very effective in localizing p53 this way."

Apigenin - Why Fruits And Vegetables Improve Patient Response To Chemotherapy | Scientific Blogging