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A toxin found in avocados could improve the disease-killing effects of the major breast cancer drug Tamoxifen, scientists believe.
Laboratory tests have shown that breast cancer cells die quicker and more efficiently when Tamoxifen is teamed up with a drug made from the plant extract, persin.
This use is a second major application for persin, a property in avocados which has also been used in a spray protecting silkworms from insects.
Scientists at the Garvan Institute in Sydney say while their research is still in a petri dish, it has exciting potential.
"The end result here could be much better treatment for all the women who take Tamoxifen but who don't respond that well to it," said lead researcher Caroline Roberts.
Women who have hormone-sensitive breast cancer commonly use Tamoxifen for five years after treatment to help to prevent tumours growing back.
It works by attaching itself to the tumour cell and blocking the oestrogen, but Ms Roberts and her team discovered a way to make it work more efficiently.
She told a meeting of the Australian Society for Medical Research that persin helped by boosting production of ceramide, a protein that prevents the growth of cells.
"When we tested it with cultured human breast cancer cells persin not only killed these cells on its own - it helped Tamoxifen do its job better too."
"It made the drug more effective and at lower doses so there would be fewer side-effects for women who used them together."
She hopes for funding to test the plant toxin on mice with breast cancer to see if the effects can be seen in animals.
The unpublished research was presented in Sydney this week.
-AAP
