Abstract 5069: Breast cancer prevention by triterpenoids from allspice

Breast cancer ranks second as a lethal cancer in women. Although survival following initial diagnosis is ~ 100% in first five years, cancer progression and mortality is imminent in subsequent years. The slow progression to the lethal form of breast cancer has prompted development of multiple avenues to delay the progression, metastasis and mortality using potent prevention strategies, including the use of nutraceuticals. Oleanolic acid (OA) and ursolic acid (UA) are two triterpenoids found in edible plant parts-fruits and seeds with potent cancer preventive, and selective cytotoxic activities against multiple cancers including breast cancer. We conducted cytotoxic assays of the combination of OA and UA. We found the combination has enhanced efficacy as compared to OA or UA alone. The combination of OA and UA and UA alone caused cell death by increased autophagy but not apoptosis in both MCF7 and MB231 human breast cancer cells. Further analysis revealed increased autopagosomes and autophagic flux, inhibition of either process reduced cytotoxicity, indicating cytotoxic autophagy is the primary mechanism of their action. Therefore, a combination of OA and UA with conventional therapies could enhance their therapeutic efficacy while limiting systemic toxicities of existing therapies. Citation Format: Jie Gao, Kenza Mamouni, Georgios Kallifatidis, Siva Panda, Muthusamy Thangaraju, Bal L. Lokeshwar. Breast cancer prevention by triterpenoids from allspice [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5069.