HOUSTON—A natural compound derived from hops, xanthohumol, was shown to block the effects of the male hormone testosterone, demonstrating its potential for the prevention of prostate cancer, according to findings presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held in Houston, Dec. 6-9, 2009.
"We hope that one day we can demonstrate that xanthohumol prevents prostate cancer development, first in animal models and then in humans, but we are just at the beginning," said Clarissa Gerhauser, Ph.D., group leader of cancer chemoprevention in the Division of Epigenomics and Cancer Risk Factors at the German Cancer Research Center, in Heidelberg, Germany.
For the study, the researchers stimulated hormone-dependent prostate cancer cells with testosterone, which led to a massive secretion of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Cells were then treated with testosterone and xanthohumol, and the effects were examined.
"Xanthohumol prevented the receptor from translocating to the cell nucleus, thus inhibiting its potential to stimulate the secretion of PSA and other hormone-dependent effects," Gerhauser said.