Preventing Cancer Recurrence with Coffee? Markey Launches Unique Clinical Trial
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 26, 2021) 鈥 From Kentucky farms to labs and now to Kentucky patients, the has officially launched a unique new clinical trial to test whether Artemisia annua extract can prevent ovarian cancer recurrence. Markey will be the first site worldwide to initiate a cancer clinical trial that evaluates its anti-cancer activity in humans using . coffee products, which are made using the leaves of the Artemisia annua plant.
Roughly one in every 75 women will develop ovarian cancer, which often spreads beyond the ovary before detection. According to 2020 data estimates from the , the predicted death rate for ovarian cancer is about 64%.
Ovarian cancer patients who participate in the trial will have completed their initial treatment, which is usually surgery and chemotherapy. When ovarian cancer recurs, it often comes back within the first two years following treatment, sometimes as early as six months. Participants will drink ArtemiLife coffee up to four times daily for five months, beginning one month after treatment ends with the intent to delay or eliminate cancer recurrence.
Dr. Frederick Ueland, a gynecologic oncologist with the 海角禁区 Markey Cancer Center, says he鈥檚 hopeful that this treatment could become a new and innovative therapy for advanced-stage cancer.
鈥淎fter treatment for ovarian cancer, there will frequently be a period of observation without active therapy,鈥 Ueland said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a trying time for patients, and sometimes it鈥檚 difficult to watch and wait. So that鈥檚 the setting we chose to study using ArtemiLife coffee as potential maintenance therapy following primary treatment鈥 it鈥檚 exciting, and it鈥檚 great to have innovative minds at work, really trying to find new solutions to significant problems.鈥
The Artemisia annua plant originated in Southeast Asia and has been used as a medicinal herb for centuries. The malaria drug artesunate was derived from its compounds, and lab scientists across the world have been studying its potential applications for other diseases, including several cancers and COVID-19. In fact, a by Markey researchers showed that artesunate, both alone and in combination with the chemotherapy drugs carboplatin and paclitaxel, showed strong anti-cancer activity in a lab setting at concentrations that are achievable in the clinical setting.
In addition to the ArtemiLife clinical trial for ovarian cancer, 海角禁区 is also working on developing a similar clinical trial using the blended drinks for lung cancer and another clinical trial using the derivative artesunate as a preventative for recurrence of pediatric acute myeloid leukemia.
鈥淎rtemisia annua and artesunate are showing good activity in the lab across multiple cancer types, even when these cancers are resistant to standard treatments,鈥 said Jill Kolesar, Pharm.D., 海角禁区 College of Pharmacy professor and administrative director of Markey鈥檚 Precision Medicine Clinic. 鈥淲e are excited to bring these promising results out of the lab and into the clinic.鈥
Artemisia annua is grown and harvested very similarly to tobacco, and Kentucky is currently the only state growing substantial amounts of the plant. The at the currently grows the plant on its own Spindletop Farm; researchers across the University use the yields of that farm. ArtemiLife products use Artemisia annua plants grown at two Kentucky farms in Georgetown and Lancaster.
鈥淔or the last three years, we鈥檝e worked with medical and agriculture experts in Kentucky to cultivate the strongest crop of Artemisia annua in the United States,鈥 said ArtemiLife CEO Adam Maust. 鈥淎rtemiLife is dedicated to continuing the research needed to truly understand the impact of Artemisia annua.鈥
