A compound used in Chinese and Japanese herbal medicine has paved the way for blocking the growth of cancers that were until now considered “undruggable.” The herb, called “honokiol,” is a natural compound found in magnolia cones, and researchers are at the stage of licensing it for testing in people.
A team led by Jack Arbiser, MD, PhD, at Emory University School of Medicine began studying honokiol in 2003 when it was discovered it could inhibit tumor growth in mice. The team focused on treatment of a family of genes called “Ras,” whose mutation triggers the growth of several types of cancers. “We found that it is particularly potent against tumors with activated Ras,” Arbiser says. Ras genes are the cancer-stimulators medicinal chemists had previously classified as “undruggable,” and they are mutated in almost a third of human cancers.
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