Although the cost of cancer treatment varies, for the most part this is not an expense that can easily be undertaken by average Americans. A new study reads there might be a solution to cut costs as experts found grapefruit juice makes cancer drugs more efficient.
It’s been a long time now that experts have found the grapefruit to be highly beneficial in sustaining a healthy life. But when it comes to cancer patients, doctors have long warned against. For years now, most cancer patients stayed away from grapefruit juices based on alleged drug interactions. The concern was that grapefruit juice would in fact reduce the effects of the cancer treatment.
But what do you know? A new study proves the opposite. In fact, when grapefruit juice is consumed in the right dosage it can make cancer drugs more efficient and will reduce cancer treatment costs down the line.
Researchers with the University of Chicago Medicine attempted to test a transplant drug called sirolimus on cancer patients. But when tested in small amounts the sirolimus was taken in by the blood stream. Higher doses would cause unwelcomed side-effects such as nausea and diarrhea. Lead researcher Dr. Ezra Cohen had the answer: grapefruit juice.
On the overall, Dr. Cohen noticed that grapefruit juices made the cancer drug sirolimus a lot more efficient. In fact when the drug was combined with a glass of grapefruit juice every day, the effectiveness of the drug was boosted three times.
Through the study, researchers increased the dosage of sirolimus in patients’ bloodstreams, while reducing the dosage each week. Patients eventually had reached a 350 percent level of sirolimus in their bloodstream thanks to grapefruit juice, while the weekly dosage dropped from 90 mg to 25-35 mg.
If grapefruit juice can be combined with other cancer drugs, it means patients will avoid much of the cancer treatment’s side effects. Plus, grapefruit juice intake could even cut costs dramatically. Dr. Cohen believes cancer drug costs could be cut by a half to a third.
Sirolimus is a cancer drug first discovered in the 70s said Dr. Ezra Cohen. “It was clearly shown to have anti-cancer effects and anti-neoplastic effects, but it hadn’t been developed for cancer extensively because the patent ran out” added the expert.
