Extract from rosehips, the red-orange fruit of the rose plant, could drastically reduce the development and migration of cells from a type of breast cancer, known as triple-negative, which represents about 10-20 percent of breast cancers.

Young Hispanic women and African-American women are disproportionately affected by triple-negative, which is an especially progressive form of cancer. Also, it doesn't respond to most available treatments administered to cancer patients. For this reason, the need for alternative treatments has driven researchers, patients and doctors searching for unconventional ways to tackle cancer.

In a statement, Patrick Martin, Ph.D., associate professor at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and leader of the study, said, "How awesome would it be to be able to say, Here, take a daily vitamin tablet from the rose plant to possibly help prevent or treat cancer? It's a natural product that we found to be effective, with no known side effects."

The U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health sponsored the study, which address triple-negative breast cancer. The cancer type earned its name because the cancer cells within the tumors don't possess the three growth factor receptors regularly targeted during cancer treatment. And consequently other treatments tend to be ineffective. Triple negative breast cancer patients experience higher rates of recurrence following remission, and the death rate is more expedient (less than three years) when compared to other breast cancer types.

The scientists leading the study indicated that high concentration (.025 to 1.0 mg/ml) of rosehip extract was applied to the tissue cultures of triple-negative breast cancer cells. This caused cancer cell proliferation to dip by 50 percent when using the highest concentration. The effect was reduced with decreased amounts of concentrated use. Typical rosehip extract decreased triple-negative breast cancer cell migration by 25 to 45 percent. It also reduced two enzymes, MAPK and Akt, known to promote the cell growth of the cancer.

The effects of the breast cancer chemotherapy drug doxorubicin was enhanced by the concentrated application of the rosehip extract, which lead to decreased cell proliferation and migration in the tissue cultures. The extract's boosting effect proves that it's a beneficial addition to treatment regimens and it could be used as a preventative measure in breast cancer treatment.

There isn't much research on triple-negative and non-white breast cancer, according to research fellows. For that reason, it's important to capture the outlook of non-white women, particularly those who are low-income. Barriers to health care access, prevalence of risk factors and health behaviors contribute to late stage diagnoses of breast cancer.

The rosehips are a natural source of vitamin C, and it's used in many foods. Pure rosehip extract can be purchased in liquid form or in pill form. The decision to investigate rosehip extract's breast cancer grew from its success in preventing cancer cell growth in the brain. In the future, researchers will treat prostate cancer cells with rosehip extract.

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