Researchers use soy to improve bone cancer treatment

Date:
September 15, 2020
Source:
Washington State University
Summary:
Researchers showed that the slow release of soy-based chemical
compounds from a 3D-printed bone-like scaffold resulted in a
reduction in bone cancer cells while building up healthy cells
and reducing harmful inflammation.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Researchers in recent years have demonstrated the health benefits of
soy, linking its consumption to reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, cancer and improved bone health.


==========================================================================
Now, WSU researchers are hoping to use the health benefits of the popular legume to improve post-operative treatment of bone cancer.

Reporting in the journal, Acta Biomaterialia, graduate student Naboneeta
Sarkar and Professor Susmita Bose in WSU's School of Mechanical and
Materials Engineering showed that the slow release of soy-based chemical compounds from a 3D-printed bone-like scaffold resulted in a reduction
in bone cancer cells while building up healthy cells and reducing harmful inflammation.

"There is not much research in this area of natural medicinal compounds in biomedical devices," Bose said. "Using these natural medicines, one can
make a difference to human health with very minimal or no side effects, although a critical issue remains composition control." Although rare, osteosarcoma occurs most often in children and young adults.

Despite medical advances, patients with osteosarcoma and metastatic bone
cancer experience a high rate of recurrence, and osteosarcoma is second
leading cause of cancer death in children.

Treatment involves surgery to remove the tumor as well as pre- and
post- operative chemotherapy. Large areas of bone need to be removed
and repaired, and patients often experience a significant amount of inflammation during bone reconstruction, which slows healing. High
doses of chemotherapy before and after surgery can also have harmful
side effects.

Researchers would like to develop gentler treatment options, especially
after surgery when patients are trying to recover from bone damage
at the same time that they are taking harsh drugs to suppress tumor
growth. Bose's team has been studying bone tissue engineering as
an alternative strategy to repair the bone, using materials science
principles and advanced manufacturing techniques to develop effective biomedical devices.

As part of this study, the researchers used 3D printing to make patient- specific, bone-like scaffolds that included three soy compounds and then
slowly released the compounds into samples containing bone cancer as
well as healthy bone cells. Soybeans contain isoflavones, plant-derived estrogens that have been shown to impede cancer cell growth for many
types of cancer without being toxic to normal cells. Isoflavones have
also been shown to improve bone health and possibly prevent osteoporosis.

One of the soybean compounds caused a 90% reduction in bone
cancer cell viability in their samples after 11 days. Two other soy
compounds, meanwhile, significantly improved the growth of healthy bone
cells. Furthermore, using the soy compounds in animal models also reduced inflammation, which could benefit bone health as well as overall recovery.

"These results advance our understanding in providing therapeutic
approaches in using synthetic bone grafts as a drug delivery vehicle,"
Bose said.

The researchers are continuing the unique area of research, studying the specific pathways of the genetic expression of natural compounds and the benefits of integrating them in biomedical technology. More detailed
long-term studies are needed, using animal research as well as other
malignant cells, she said.

The work was funded by the National Institutes of Health.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Washington_State_University. Original written by Tina Hilding. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Naboneeta Sarkar, Susmita Bose. Controlled release of soy
isoflavones
from multifunctional 3D printed bone tissue engineering
scaffolds. Acta Biomaterialia, 2020; 114: 407 DOI:
10.1016/j.actbio.2020.07.006 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200915090132.htm

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