A new frontier for the prevention of aggressive mesothelioma could come from the artichoke extract . The pleural cancer caused by asbestos, which does not currently have a decisive cure. Experts estimate that many new cases of disease will be registered in 2020, given that the quantity of this mineral present in the environment is still large and that the effects of inhaling asbestos can also occur several years after exposure. An experimental study is ready, involving the Regina Elena Institute in Rome and Mc Master University in Hamilton, Canada, determined to investigate the protective and healing effects of the artichoke. The trial was presented in Rome by dr. Giovanni Blandino of Regina Elena, on the occasion of the international Workshop on metabolism, diet and chronic diseases. The research will take place on a sample of thirty people who have come into contact with asbestos during their lifetime and is based on the use of a substance made by an Italian company, containing extract of artichoke leaves. The subjects involved in the study are people at high risk of mesothelioma, who have several factors to keep under control, such as lung asbestos plaques. They will be monitored, to understand if there may be efficacy in the treatment of mesothelioma, by administering four tablets based on artichoke extract per day, for one year. The study includes a check to be done every three months on biomarkers, such as mesothelin, which is a protein produced by the mesothelium, whose values rise when mesothelioma is present. Artichoke extract should be able to block the growth and proliferation of cancer cells, also keeping mesothelin production at bay. Research has proved satisfactory on laboratory guinea pigs, the hope is that it will also work on humans. It is a revolutionary research, the first in the world that involves the use of a natural substance in the prevention of tumors. Dr. Paola Muti, of Mc Master University, underlined the importance of chemoprevention, already widespread in the United States, which can often be put into practice following some simple daily food rules and with a different use of drugs. If the natural substance contained by the artichoke made for this study, without side effects, proves to be active and effective in the prevention of mesothelioma, it would also bring with it an advantage in cost, as well as a huge benefit for the sick. At the moment, hopes are placed in this first phase of research and, if confirmed, new tests will be carried out on larger samples and for a greater number of years.
