Raspberry to the Rescue For Skin Cancer

Studies have found that treating mice with a black raspberry gel following sun exposure reduced swelling, inflammation, and skin damage. It also greatly reduced the size and number of skin tumors that developed. The researchers from Ohio State University are now in the process of developing a black raspberry topical gel and are continuing their tests with humans. It appears it can be used much like a sunscreen or after sun exposure to reduce pre-cancerous lesions.

They are also developing an adhesive gel that can be applied in the mouth to treat oral cancers. Based on these findings, researchers at the University of Louisville are combining the black raspberries with blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries to see if they can be used successfully to treat cancers of the lung, breast, and other sites. Consuming large amounts of this mixture has provided protection in rat studies.

As for the black raspberry gel, the researchers are seeking FDA approval so it can be sold as a prescription item sometime in 2009. The berry gel could be a godsend, particularly to organ transplant patients. The anti-rejection medication they require has a dramatic effect on their immune systems. As a result, for the rest of their lives they are highly susceptible to developing cancer, particularly lymphoma—where their risk increases 20-fold—and for non-melanoma skin cancer (squamous cell)—where the risk is increased 65- to 250-fold. It has been found that 5–10 percent of all transplant patients will develop squamous cell carcinoma within five years of their transplant, and half will do so within 10 years. While squamous cell carcinoma isn’t as deadly as the melanoma form of skin cancer, it can be deadly for someone with a weakened immune system. The Ohio State researchers appear to be making their black raspberry gel by mixing freeze-dried berries with K-Y Jelly. That being the case, there’s no need to wait for a prescription product.