Developments in Brief : Medicinal Herbs May Have Throat Cancer Tie

A deadly form of throat cancer that afflicts people in southern China may be caused in part by two types of plants commonly used in herbal folk medicines, scientists say.

The disease, nasopharyngeal cancer, is known to be associated with the Epstein-Barr virus. But scientists said last week that there is new research indicating that chemicals found in both types of plants promote the growth of the deadly tumors.

Both plant families, Euphorbiaceae, commonly known as caper spurge, and Thaymelaeaceae, are found all over the world but are commonly used by the Chinese in folk medicines, said Ronald Glaser, professor of microbiology at Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus.

He said the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes mononucleosis and is a member of the herpes family, has been linked to a number of cancers, including nasopharyngeal cancer. But scientists have always puzzled over why the Chinese are much more likely to get the deadly form of cancer than others. It is the most common cancer among men and the second most common among women in southern China.

Through trial-and-error experiments, Glaser and his colleague, L. David Tomei, discovered that chemicals found in the two types of plants promoted the virus to replicate in cells in laboratory dishes. The findings were published in last week’s issue of Nature, the British science journal.

“We can’t say for certain that this is what is promoting the Epstein-Barr virus in the Chinese, but it would suggest that,” Glaser said. He said other chemicals are also known to promote nasopharyngeal tumors, but he said many Chinese ingest these particular chemicals when they eat medicinal herbs. “It is in their diet,” he said.