Clinical trials of melanoma drug based on pine bark extract started

Melanoma is the most common form of cancer in the world. Due to late diagnosis, almost 95% of patients die in our country. Mortality from melanoma in Ukraine is unreasonably high, in the United States, for example, it is only 5%.
About 60% of the active substances of modern drugs for the treatment of various types of cancer are compounds that are extracted from plants, animals or microorganisms.
The latest research of scientists of the Hershey Medical Center allowed them to find a unique component, the effect of which on tumor cells is fundamentally different from the previously known method of treatment.
Among more than 500 natural substances, scientists have identified one that can block several ways of interaction of tumor cells with its microenvironment. It's a lilamine derived from pine bark.

What is the uniqueness of the action of lilamine?

• It deactivates the molecular pathways necessary for survival of cancer cells (STAT3, MAPK and PI3K), which are involved in 70% of melanoma cases.
• the substance, without affecting healthy cells, blocks the movement of cholesterol around the cancer cell, leading to its death,
• Lilamine suppresses the development of melanoma without causing side effects.

Positive animal studies have made it possible to begin clinical trials of lilamine in humans at the University of Pennsylvania.

Source: estet-portal.com