KUCHING – A plant native to Borneo may hold the key to treating nasopharyngeal cancer, according to research carried out at Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus.
The Aglaia plant, known locally as Kelabuno to the Orang Ulu and Segera to the Iban, has been discovered to contain a highly potent anti-cancer compound called silvestrol which kills cancer cells by preventing the rogue cells from making proteins they need to survive.
In the laboratory, silvestrol has proven to be as effective in destroying cancer cells as most common chemotherapies.
The research headed by Dr Paul Neilsen is investigating if it is also effective in killing nasopharyngeal, or nose cancer cells.
“So far, the initial results are promising and suggest that silvestrol may be a good candidate for the treatment of this type of cancer in the future,” said Neilsen.
He explains that as the tumour occurs deep within the nasal cavity at the base of the brain in a location called the nasopharynx, the cancer is difficult to detect and inoperable. His research is to identify an alternative approach to treatment.
“About 75% of patients are only diagnosed when the cancer is in its advanced stages and has spread to other parts of the body,” said the Australian researcher, adding that since surgery is not an option patients typically only have chemotherapy and radiotherapy as treatment options.
Nasal cancer, which has a 60% mortality rate, is endemic among rural communities and it is the most common cancer found among men in Sarawak.
While several ethnic groups indigenous to Sarawak have a high risk of developing the cancer, the Bidayuh community has the highest risk in the world.
“To put this in a local context, the Bidayuh are over 30 times more likely to develop this cancer than the Indian ethnic group in Malaysia,” Neilsen explained.
Neilsen’s research project followed the recent signing of research agreements between Swinburne Sarawak and Sarawak Biodiversity Council.
A worldwide patent for the rights to develop silvestrol against various types of cancer belongs to the Sarawak government. The patent is maintained and overseen by the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC).
Between the parties, the roles of the collaborators are clearly defined. SBC has a programme on the collection and identification of the Aglaia plant for extraction and purification of the bioactive compounds.
The compounds are chemically characterized and provided to Swinburne Sarawak for cancer research work.
SBC, through its own R&D, will also look at approaches to synthesise and/or semi-synthesise the compound to supply for clinical trials if the preclinical tests are successful.
To accelerate the pre-clinical research, Swinburne Sarawak is in collaboration with the Institute of Medical Research in Kuala Lumpur to look into the ability of silvestrol to work together with existing cancer therapies to kill cancer cells more effectively.
“Ultimately, we hope that the outcomes from the research collaboration with the SBC, along with further funding, will lead to a phase one clinical trial on silvestrol here in Sarawak,” said Neilsen.