Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Jan 25, 2026 1 hour, 54 minutes ago
Medical News: Triple negative breast cancer is among the most aggressive and difficult forms of breast cancer to treat, largely because it does not respond to hormone therapy or targeted drugs. Chemotherapy remains the main treatment option, but its effectiveness is often limited by drug resistance, severe side effects, and inflammation that can worsen outcomes. New laboratory research now suggests that a natural plant extract may significantly strengthen chemotherapy effects against this deadly cancer type.
Natural soursop leaf extract dramatically boosts chemotherapy power against aggressive triple negative breast cancer cells while reducing inflammation
In this
Medical News report, scientists examined how leaf extract from Annona muricata, commonly known as soursop, works together with the chemotherapy drug cisplatin to destroy triple negative breast cancer cells more effectively.
Institutions Behind the Research
The study was conducted by researchers from the Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Cellular Physiopathology and Biomolecules Valorisation at the Faculty of Science of Tunis, University Tunis El Manar in Tunisia, the University Rouen Normandie in France, the University Clermont Auvergne in France, University College Cork in Ireland, and University Bourgogne Europe in France.
Why Triple Negative Breast Cancer Is Hard to Treat
Triple negative breast cancer lacks estrogen, progesterone, and HER2 receptors, making many modern cancer therapies ineffective. Cisplatin is often used because it damages cancer cell DNA and forces cells to die. However, it can also trigger harmful inflammation, mitochondrial damage, and treatment resistance, limiting long term success.
What the Researchers Studied
The researchers used 4T1 cancer cells, a widely accepted laboratory model that closely mimics advanced triple negative breast cancer. The cells were treated with cisplatin alone, soursop leaf extract alone, and a combination of both treatments.
Key Findings Explained Simply
The study found that soursop leaf extract alone significantly reduced cancer cell survival, impaired their ability to attach and spread, and disrupted their growth cycle. Cisplatin alone mainly killed cancer cells through apoptosis, a form of programmed cell death driven by severe mitochondrial damage.
When soursop leaf extract was combined with cisplatin, the results were far more powerful. The combination shifted cancer cell death away from apoptosis toward autophagy, a process where cancer cells essentially digest themselves from the inside. This shift made the cancer cells more vulnerable and less capable of surviving chemotherapy.
Reduced Inflammation and Lower Recurrence Risk
Cisplatin alone increased inflammatory markers such as TNF-alpha and IL-6, which are associated with cancer progression and treatment resistance. The soursop leaf extract significantly suppressed these harmf
ul inflammatory signals while increasing IL-10, a protective anti-inflammatory molecule.
Importantly, cancer cells treated with the combination therapy completely lost their ability to form new colonies, suggesting a strong reduction in recurrence potential and long-term survival of cancer cells.
Conclusions
This study demonstrates that soursop leaf extract dramatically enhances the anti-cancer effects of cisplatin against triple negative breast cancer cells by altering cell death pathways, suppressing inflammation, and preventing cancer regrowth. The findings suggest that natural plant-based compounds could serve as valuable complementary agents alongside chemotherapy. While these results are highly promising, further animal studies and human clinical trials are required before any clinical recommendations can be made.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Cells.
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/15/3/213
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Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/cancer
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/herbs-and-phytochemicals
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