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Hot Pepper Kills Prostate Cancer

Posted by CowboyNeal on Thu Mar 16, 2006 09:36 PM
from the cajun-health-food dept.
Biotech Science
brian0918 writes "U.S. and Japanese researchers have announced results of a study showing that capsaicin, the chemical that makes peppers hot, can cause prostate cancer cells to kill themselves. 'Capsaicin led 80 percent of human prostate cancer cells growing in mice to commit suicide in a process known as apoptosis, the researchers said.' This led to tumors one fifth the size of those in untreated mice."
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  • In other news, cause for Mexican-food flatulence not determined yet.

  • Great... Just Great. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Mr. Flibble (12943) on Thursday March 16 2006, @09:38PM (#14938804) Homepage
    I don't know about the rest of you, but the idea of Habanero suppositories just does not sit well with me...

    (I can hear Johnny Cash singing "Ring of Fire"...)
    • Uh... Actually... No...

      Fail that remedial biology? Your prostate is nowhere (topologically) near your asshole. Wrong path. It would have to go up and back down again. Large and small intestine vs bladder and urethra. Shorter route would be through your stomache. Of course, the other alternative is worse... Far worse...

      • Re:Great... Just Great. (Score:5, Funny)

        by Mr. Flibble (12943) on Thursday March 16 2006, @10:26PM (#14939102) Homepage
        Fail that remedial biology? Your prostate is nowhere (topologically) near your asshole. Wrong path. It would have to go up and back down again. Large and small intestine vs bladder and urethra. Shorter route would be through your stomache. Of course, the other alternative is worse... Far worse...

        Fail that remedial comedy? Your funny bone is nowhere (topologically) near your asshole. But then, I hear there is a great deal of confusion between asses and elbows sometimes. ;)

      • Remedial anatomy (Score:5, Informative)

        by martalli (818692) on Thursday March 16 2006, @10:40PM (#14939161) Homepage

        A simple correction - your prostate is between your urethra and your rectum [osu.edu]. In fact, the prostate makes most of the liquid in the ejaculate. If your prostate is too large (BPH [urologyhealth.org]), then the the urologist will sometimes do a TURP (also in the BPH article), where the urologist basically goes up your urethra and scoops out heaps of the prostate, in order to free up some space for the poor fellow to relieve himself.

        If concern for prostate cancer is raised, a biopsy is done with a terribly evil device [prostatecentre.ca] that goes up the rectum and spears the prostate with six separate little needles. If they left a little capsaicin behind you would be so sore you wouldn't notice...However, the study as reported by the article was simply consumed capsaicin, not topically applied

        • Re:Great... Just Great. (Score:5, Funny)

          by kesuki (321456) on Friday March 17 2006, @12:08AM (#14939595) Journal
          Just because you can 'feel' the prostrate through the anus, does not make it the shortest path to Bring a chemical in Direct contact with it. And technically, the shortest path is going to be straight up the urethra. ouch. if you eat capsacin some will pass the blood barrier membrane and through the cirulatory system to the prostate. enough to provide the kinds of results in this study? i don't think so, colon cancer, maybe. but they didn't prove that capsacin has an effect on colon cancer, only prostate cancer.

          Not a big shocker though, a poison in high concentrations caused cancer cells to die ;) a poison that normal cells have stronger resistance to, and FWIW, habanero's aren't going to do it for you, you should go out and buy some of those police sized peppper spray cans. Since they're technically a spray one Could attempt direct application, but I doubt that the 'burning sensation' would be worth it even if it could CURE the cancer instead of reduce tumour growth by 80%. pepper spray also makes a great burrito spice, if you like 'rolling on the floor crying to mommy burning hot' spicy.

    • Re:Great... Just Great. (Score:5, Funny)

      by utlemming (654269) on Thursday March 16 2006, @10:55PM (#14939256) Homepage
      I once entered myself into a hot pepper festival in Texas. It was a painful experience. All the contestants started out with a red pepper and then worked their way up the famed Habanero. By the time you reached the Habanero your mouth is on fire, your stomach is upset and you want to shoot yourself. I thought that the pain was over once my mouth was done burning. No. About four hours latter I had what I can only describe as the "Bunghole of Fire." My room mate knocked on the door to ask if I was okay. Apparently the screams pain hinted that something was not quite right in the bathroom. So your comment brought back memories. Thanks. I didn't need that....

            • Re:Great... Just Great. (Score:4, Funny)

              by Doctor Memory (6336) on Friday March 17 2006, @01:07PM (#14943248) Homepage
              It breaks down the capascin (sp?) oils that cause the burning. My roommate in college turned me on to this after walking in to the bathroom and finding me passed out in the tub with my ass under the cold water spigot*...

              * Helpful hint: on your first visit to a new restaurant, when they ask you how spicy you want your $FOOD, don't use the phrase "hurt me".

  • Forget the cells! (Score:5, Funny)

    by turrican (55223) on Thursday March 16 2006, @09:39PM (#14938807)
    Sometimes the stuff in those peppers (on their way out...) makes me want to commit suicide!

  • Three to eight... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by FireballX301 (766274) on Thursday March 16 2006, @09:40PM (#14938813) Journal
    Lehmann estimated that the mice ate the human equivalent of 400 milligrams of capsaicin three times a week. That is about the amount found in three to eight fresh habanero peppers, depending on how hot the peppers are.

    I may be a lightweight bastard, but I cannot eat a single habanero without violently vomiting.

    400 mg of Capsaicin is basically like eating pepper spray. Even if it's in capsule pill form you may vomit it up from your stomach. I wonder if there's any way for a local application to the prostate instead of standard ingestion.

    • Re:Three to eight... (Score:5, Funny)

      by cbiffle (211614) on Thursday March 16 2006, @09:42PM (#14938831)
      Well, sure, we can...but trust me, you're probably going to prefer the mouth to the urethra, when it comes to capsaicin treatments.

    • Re:Three to eight... (Score:4, Funny)

      by Solder Fumes (797270) on Thursday March 16 2006, @09:43PM (#14938840)
      I'm sure there is, but it would burn like a motherfucker.

    • Re:Three to eight... (Score:5, Informative)

      by geekoid (135745) <dadinportlandNO@SPAMyahoo.com> on Thursday March 16 2006, @09:59PM (#14938945) Homepage Journal
      it would be in a pill form, so there would be no taste or burning of the mouth.
      Now if your vomiting is from a reaction from something besides taste and burning mouth, you screwed.

    • Re:Three to eight... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by modecx (130548) on Thursday March 16 2006, @10:53PM (#14939236)
      Capsaicin doesn't do a thing to tissues that don't have neurons to which the molecules can bind. I keep telling this to people that insist that eating peppers all the time will destroy your stomach... But some people just don't listen to reason, but instead to old wives tales. It seems that many membranes have the neurons that capsaicin triggers, and they're mostly on the face, and in and around the anus, of all places. If you managed to swallow a habanero whole, it shouldn't cause a problem unless some of that capsaicin survives the digestion process, and then you'll be singing a Johnny Cash song.

      Most birds, incidentally, don't have receptors that capsaicin works with, so they can eat peppers all day long and not have a problem.

      • Birds and capsaicin... (Score:4, Informative)

        by sean.peters (568334) on Friday March 17 2006, @10:08AM (#14941630) Homepage
        Most birds, incidentally, don't have receptors that capsaicin works with, so they can eat peppers all day long and not have a problem.

        This property comes in really handy if squirrels start stealing from your birdfeeder. Just mix a healthy dose of cayenne pepper with the birdseed - the squirrels lose interest really fast, but the birds don't even notice. The only trouble is that the cayenne tends to cause the seed to stick together into a big solid mass when it gets damp. Also, refilling, emptying, and cleaning the birdfeeder can become an interesting process when you have clouds of cayenne pepper forming around you!

        Sean

        • Re:Three to eight... (Score:5, Interesting)

          by modecx (130548) on Friday March 17 2006, @02:37AM (#14940088)
          This is true, but it's not like there is one type of receptor on any given neuron. Capsaicin works on a very specific type of receptor that also responds to acids and temperature (hence the link to the burning feeling). In our mouths, at least, there's a receptor for every sensation, bitter (alkali, sour (acids), sweet (I remember reading that there's a specific receptor for many kinds of different sugars), salty (ummm, salts), and hot/cold.

          I'm not a doctor or a biologist, but personally, I just don't feel a whole lot of anything in my stomach. You're right, that dosen't mean that capsaicin dosen't have some kind of effect, in fact, I've read that it can stimulate peristalsis in the GI tract and cause the parasympathetic nervous system to release a neurotransmitter which is responsible for lowering blood pressure and later release of endorphines. So, maybe it actually helps with good digestion and lowering blood pressure a bit, it could do much more for all I know... And all of that would indicate that there are at least a few compatible receptors in the stomach/GI tract, like you say. I didn't say there weren't. I've said time and again you couldn't feel it in your stomach, directly.

          I was just saying that there's no real evidence that capsaicin does any harm in the stomach, like so many people think. They think eating peppers in quantity is analogous to drinking battery acid. Even the AC that responded to me thinking he knows what goes on was misinformed. So what if it causes more acid, if it does at all? The stomach deals with some nasty ass acid all the time, a little or a lot more won't cause a problem in the stomach, even with weakened mucous lining. Oh, sure, a lot more than normal isn't good for the esophagus, but it's not built to deal with it. It's been proven that almost all stomach ulcers are caused either by bacteria that build a small basic environment in which they can thrive, or by cancer! Acid dosen't hurt a healthy stomach.

  • Great news for my wife! (Score:5, Funny)

    by AceyMan (199978) on Thursday March 16 2006, @09:41PM (#14938819)
    My wife *loves* super hot foods, so if this is true, she'll never get prostate cancer!

  • Capsaicin - topical analgesic (Score:5, Informative)

    by Frankie70 (803801) on Thursday March 16 2006, @09:45PM (#14938851)
    Capsaicin [nih.gov]
    is an excellent topical analgesic also for neural problems, like Diabetic neuropathy.

    There is a substance P which transmits the pain to the brain. Capsaicin destroys substance
    P if you apply it for 4-5 days multiple times a day & hence for the next couple of weeks
    you will not have pain, then you have to report it. Instead of the expensive Capsaicin
    cream you can also use a paste made at home of red chilli powder etc. Or even McIlhenny's Tabasco [idiom.com]

    I have meralgia parasthetic condition & nothing provides relief like chilli paste.

  • new market... (Score:3, Funny)

    by irving47 (73147) on Thursday March 16 2006, @09:46PM (#14938854) Homepage
    I sense a new product and service for locations near hospitals and clinics offering treatment.... Buttermilk enemas!

  • Another thing you can do... (Score:5, Funny)

    by clevershark (130296) on Thursday March 16 2006, @09:48PM (#14938868) Homepage
    You can also masturbate for prostate health [bbc.co.uk]! Just make sure you do that before handling hot peppers. Trust me on that one.

  • Quick Google Scholar Search (Score:5, Interesting)

    by FreemanPatrickHenry (317847) on Thursday March 16 2006, @09:50PM (#14938882)
    Hmm, a quick Google Scholar search for "capsaicin cancer" revealed this [nih.gov]. That link, from NIH, seems to indicate that there's evidence that capsaicin is a carconigen:

    The cancer increase was dependent on the concentration of these groups in a county. These results strengthen and extend an earlier case-control study which found odds ratios above 5 for the stomach cancer association with capsaicin pepper. It is further evidence that capsaicin is a human carcinogen.

    Thoughts?
    • You can't win.

      Give up.

    • I have issues with all "[insert product here] causes cancer" studies. The mechanisms that cause a cingle cell to become cancerous are not known. Ther are people who smoke for 30 years and don't develop cancer. Then there are folks like my father in law. Smoked 20 years, and got skin cancer, but not lung cancer. Until someone figures out DEFINITIVELY(sp?) how cancer starts, how can they say anything "causes" cancer?

      • Re:Quick Google Scholar Search (Score:4, Informative)

        by some guy on slashdot (914343) on Friday March 17 2006, @04:21AM (#14940341)
        We do, in fact, know what causes cancer. It's just random mutation of a LOT of DNA codons. The problem is partly that it takes so many mutations, in so many possible combinations, that we can't point to a single cause. But that doesn't mean we can't predict what things are more likely to induce those cancerous mutations. In fact, we have names for the series of things that are likely to cause mutation; carcinogens. You're right that we don't know to the exact decimal place how carcinogenic certain things are. But we do know that cigarettes are 1,000,000 times as carcinogenic as, say, a baked potato.

        Does this mean that smoking cigarettes will undoubtedly give you cancer, always, in every case? No. Does it mean that avoiding carcinogens will completely safeguard you against it? No. Because the mechanism is still completely random - you could smoke your entire life and never create a particular combination of mutations that causes your cells to divide uncontrollably, or you could get a bad set of transcription errors and end up with cancer anyway. But that doesn't mean you should discount smoking, industrial waste and radiation as health risks simply because we don't know if habanero peppers are slightly carcinogenic or not.

        The question is, if rolling a die a thousand times in a specific order would give you a horrible, disfiguring and probably deadly disease, would you rather roll the die 1 billion times, or 100 billion times?

      • Re:Quick Google Scholar Search (Score:5, Insightful)

        by JavaRob (28971) on Friday March 17 2006, @01:40AM (#14939938) Homepage Journal
        "Carbs evil! Eat meat! No, eat carbs! Tofu FTW!"

        Huh? Tofu is pretty much all protein, not carbs.

        Anyway, if your conclusion from "we get contradictory info, and we're all going to die someday anyway" is "ignore all the info" that's just another extreme approach that's going to hurt you.

        It's like you should probably avoid the extreme diets premised on dubious (or little-explored) studies. But you aren't choosing between that and eating Ho-Hos and pizza for every meal. There's a ton we *do* know about leading a healthy life. Don't spend hours a day counting calories, but get some exercise, avoid the junk food (just don't even bring it home unless you have an iron will), and start eating less if you start getting fat. It's not that hard once you're in the habit, and you'll live a much better life than anyone swinging between the extremes.

        About cancer... often it's worth checking into actual incidence rates of different cancers before you make choices of what recommendations you want to ignore. Some carcinogens have a tiny effect. Something like smoking has a pretty huge effect (something like 1 in 19 people get lung cancer in their lives, and 90% of people who die from lung cancer are smokers.. and that's ignoring all of the other health effects of smoking, including other cancers).

        In the end, you do have to balance the benefit against the gain, but it IS worth putting some thought into ...and actually reading the numbers.

        Yes, freaking out at every headline isn't much use (since many of the reporters don't always seem to understand the actual significance of the studies they're reporting on... they just want the big headline), but that doesn't mean useful info isn't readily available. If you don't want to parse it yourself, talk to your doctor about it.
  • how much the Slashdot userbase is aging. Now where are my glasses? I can't find my Viagra without them.

  • Possible other uses for Pepper Spray.. (Score:3, Informative)

    by sinth (830539) on Thursday March 16 2006, @09:54PM (#14938909)
    FTA reference;
    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Capsaici n&oldid=43115117 [wikipedia.org]

    "Capsaicin is also the active ingredient in the chemical riot control agent pepper spray. When the spray comes in contact with skin, especially eyes or mucous membranes it is very painful."

    Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepper_spray [wikipedia.org]

    "Pepper spray (also known as OC spray (from "Oleoresin Capsicum"), OC gas, or capsicum spray) is a lachrymatory agent which is used in riot control, crowd control and personal self-defense, including defense against dogs. It is a non-lethal agent that can be deadly in rare cases. The American Civil Liberties Union claims to have documented fourteen fatalities from the use of pepper spray. The active ingredient in pepper spray is capsaicin, which is a chemical derived from the fruit of plants in the Capsicum genus, including chillis. Long-term effects of pepper spray have not been effectively researched."

    Apparently someone was curious.. (Mental image of evil scientist deviously spraying innocent mice with pepper spray while laughing .. deviously.)

  • A a scientist... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 16 2006, @10:08PM (#14939008)
    who works at Pfizer Global Research & Development, there are many natural substances that can treat diseases and conditions that are not known to the general public. For example, Lipitor, last year contributed to $13 BILLION of Pfizer's $16 BILLION profit. Drinkng 6 to 8 ounces of RED WINE per DAY (AND NO MORE!!!) will likely negate the need of Lipitor and similar drugs later in life for the treatment of elevated cholesterol and plaques in the arteries. The important point of this statement is that one cannot exceed 6 to 8 ounces of RED WINE per day, or else the effects of alcohol(ism) will have serious detrimental effects on the body. Google or Wikipedia 'resveratrol'.

    Big pharma doesn't like the general public knowing that natural compounds present in everyday foods can prevent/treat diseases/conditions that arise later in life due to certain metabolic syndromes/disorders/lifestyles, etc... How else would big pharma demand high prices for its 'miracale/block-buster drugs'?

    Since I'm a contract scientist working at Pfizer, and not employed by Pfizer, I feel obligated to tell the truth about some of the secrets hidden by the pharmaceutical industry. Don't read too much into what I've written, I'm not advocating the consumption of alcohol, but drinkning 6-8 ounces of red wine per day will keep high cholesterol and the doctor away, for a long, long time.

    • Re:A a scientist... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by posterlogo (943853) on Friday March 17 2006, @01:54AM (#14939973)
      This is hardly something "hidden" by the pharmaceutical companies. There are many known natural compounds, like antioxidants, that will help prevent a vast number of ailments and diseases associated with aging. It's not like it's some big secret that eating healthy (vegetables, whole grains) and maintaining a reasonable exercise regiment is primarily what you need to age well. There are, of course, many other little novelties, like red wine, etc., but come on? You haven't seen enough of those little blurbs about "Tonight at 11, this miracle food will cure what ails you...find out what it is." They pop up all over the place. Lipitor is used to help people who are ALREADY symptomatic. It is NOT meant to be prescribed rampantly to just anyone as a preventative measure. There is absolutely no proof that red wine can help reverse alleviate elevated cholesterol or arterial plaques once they have formed. As a fellow, scientist, I'm surprised you wouldn't know to make this very important distinction. I have no problem with people using the knowledge that a little bit of red wine is good for the heart, but don't make it sound like it does the same thing as Lipitor.

  • Jalapeño suppositories anyone? (Score:5, Funny)

    by adolfojp (730818) on Thursday March 16 2006, @10:18PM (#14939056) Homepage
    Having to choose between prostate cancer and jalapeño suppositories is definite proof that God exists and that he has a very sick sense of humor.

  • What are the rates in cultures that like hot food? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Palal (836081) on Thursday March 16 2006, @10:21PM (#14939077) Homepage
    What are the rates in countries such as South Korea, where many foods are extremely spicy?

    • Re:What are the rates in cultures that like hot fo (Score:4, Interesting)

      by fdiskne1 (219834) on Friday March 17 2006, @08:01AM (#14940897)

      As soon as I read the article, I did a Google search for prostate cancer and hispanic. I found this page [epnet.com] which states:

      Hispanic-American and Native-American men have lower rates of prostate cancer than do white men. Worldwide, the lowest rates of prostate cancer are in Asian countries; the highest rates of prostate cancer are in Northern European countries.

      Seems to support the theory!

  • There be FLAMES shooting out my ass! (Score:5, Funny)

    by ip_freely_2000 (577249) on Thursday March 16 2006, @10:45PM (#14939190)

    Loving spicy foods pays off! Finally, my wife will have to stop complaining when I aromitize the bedroom in the middle of the night.

    "But honey, it's part of my health management program!"

  • not the whole story (Score:5, Funny)

    by penguin-collective (932038) on Friday March 17 2006, @01:31AM (#14939917)
    This is typical for how scientists try to make the best out of bad experimental results. Yes, it's true that 80% of the cancer cells committed suicide, but that's because 80% of the mice themselves committed suicide when the capsaicin was "applied" to their prostates. You would, too.

    Some of the mice hung themselves, while some others shot themselves; the scientists still haven't figured out where they got the ropes and guns, which only underlines how painful the treatment is.

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