Malignant Mesothelioma and Delivery of Polyphenols

Our plain-English summary of Malignant Mesothelioma and Delivery of Polyphenols, by K.S. Bishop, A.J. Braakhuis, L.R. Ferguson (Nutrients, 2016).

The study

• Authors: K.S. Bishop, A.J. Braakhuis, L.R. Ferguson
• Journal: Nutrients
• Published: 2016;8(6)
• Cited by: 4 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Malignant Mesothelioma (MM) is a rare form of cancer that affects the thin cell wall lining of the body's internal organs and structures.[...].

In plain English

This article was a short commentary, not a study: the authors collected no data of their own. It discussed two review articles in a Nutrients special issue on polyphenols, compounds commonly found in edible plants. As background, the authors stated that malignant mesothelioma occurs in the pleura, the peritoneum and more rarely the heart, and that it is known only to be caused by exposure to asbestos fibres, either directly or through someone who was exposed. They described a review by Benvenuto and colleagues that gave a profile of cytokines (immune signalling molecules) in healthy subjects, asbestos-exposed people and mesothelioma patients. That review suggested giving polyphenols into the serous cavity, the body cavity where the tumour grows, to get around poor absorption. They also described a review by Granja and colleagues of nanotechnology delivery systems for EGCG, a polyphenol associated with green tea. The authors concluded that further research is required, but that such approaches are likely to solve many absorption and bioavailability problems of polyphenols in cancer prevention and treatment.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Commentary on two published review articles (no original data)
• Who was studied: No people or animals studied; the commentary discusses two articles published in the Nutrients Special Issue on polyphenols for cancer treatment or prevention (Benvenuto et al., University of Rome; Granja et al., University of Porto)
• Exposure: Asbestos fibres are named, as background, as the only known cause of malignant mesothelioma, with exposure either direct or through someone who was exposed; no fiber types are specified. The main subject is polyphenols, including EGCG.
• Main results:
  • The authors stated, as background, that malignant mesothelioma is found in the pleura, the peritoneum, and more rarely the heart
  • Reported from Benvenuto et al. (not this article's own finding): a profile of up- and down-regulated cytokines was given for healthy subjects, asbestos-exposed people and mesothelioma patients
  • Reported from Benvenuto et al. (not this article's own finding): administering polyphenols to the serous cavity was suggested to avoid bioavailability problems
  • Reported from Granja et al. (not this article's own finding): published data were reviewed and delivery systems for the polyphenol EGCG, most commonly associated with green tea, were summarised
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that further research is required, but that nanotechnology delivery approaches are likely to solve many of the absorption and bioavailability challenges of polyphenols for the prevention and treatment of cancers

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Lung cancer, Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• The Potential Protective Effects of Polyphenols in Asbestos-Mediated Inflammation and Carcinogenesis of Mesothelium — M. Benvenuto, R. Mattera, et al. (2016)
• Phytochemicals in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Treatment-Review on the Current Trends of Therapies — M. Chmielewska-Kassassir, L.A. Wozniak (2021)
• Pro-oxidant activity of polyphenols and its implication on cancer chemoprevention and chemotherapy — A.J. León-González, C. Auger, et al. (2015)
• Polyphenol Extract from Evening Primrose (Oenothera paradoxa) Inhibits Invasion Properties of Human Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Cells — M. Chmielewska-Kassassir, K. Sobierajska, et al. (2020)
• Nanoparticle tumor localization, disruption of autophagosomal trafficking, and prolonged drug delivery improve survival in peritoneal mesothelioma — R. Liu, A.H. Colby, et al. (2016)
• Paclitaxel-loaded expansile nanoparticles enhance chemotherapeutic drug delivery in mesothelioma 3-dimensional multicellular spheroids — H. Lei, S.C. Hofferberth, et al. (2015)

Browse more research in Nutrients, or return to medical research.