Prostate cancer is the third leading cause of death due to cancer in men in Spain. It may progress from benign hyperplasia (growth of the prostate) to localized prostate cancer, or to metastatic castration-resistant cancer, for which few drugs are available.

The OncObesity and Metabolism group formed by research staff at the University of Córdoba and the city’s Maimónides Biomedical Research Institute (IMIBIC) studies the antitumor effects of beneficial natural compounds that can be included in diets and act against different types of cancer.

Researchers Raúl M. Luque, María Loreta Libero, and Antonio J. Montero recently studied the beneficial effects of a fermented black garlic extract on prostate cancer cells. Taking into account a previous experiment in mice in which the extract was found to have anti-inflammatory characteristics, and considering the important role of inflammation in prostate cancer, they decided to evaluate its effect on cellular models of human prostate cancer.

“We tested the extract in different human prostate cancer cell models, and found that it was capable of reducing various tumor aggressiveness parameters, including cell proliferation,” explained researcher Antonio Montero. “We also found that it did not affect normal prostate cells.” In this way, he indicated, this compound could be administered as a dietary supplement without potentially negative effects on healthy prostate cells.

The group’s principal investigator, Raúl Luque, explained how, after demonstrating the compound’s anticancer effects, “we wanted to know which molecular pathways were affected by use of the compound, and we were able to verify that key signaling pathways in cancer were altered, including those related to inflammation. The treatment decreases the inflammatory environment that you can see in this type of cancer.” The extract was more effective and was able to produce more changes when the cells were in a pro-inflammatory environment. The local inflammation could be related to the aggressiveness of the cancer, and the fact that this extract acts on it could be due to its reduced aggressiveness after the extract treatment.

According to Luque, “everything indicates that this compound could be a very good option to avert some of the adverse events that occur in patients who are going to progress to a more complex and aggressive stage of prostate cancer.”

To ascertain the preventive effect of this compound, the following steps would involve conducting a pilot study in people with a family history of prostate cancer, or continuing with a clinical study in patients who already have it, administering this compound to evaluate whether the cancer’s progress can be decelerated or stopped.