GEORGE TOWN: Two researchers from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) who have each received a research grant from the National Cancer Council (Makna) will come up with alternative therapies for cervical cancer.
Dr Nor Fazila Che Mat from the university’s School of Health Sciences will conduct research on an alternative therapy for this type of cancer using a herbal plant extract.
Dr K Neethia Mohana from the School of Biological Sciences, will meanwhile study the effectiveness of a drug known as BH3 in treating cervical cancer wich has been linked to human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 and HPV 18 infections.
Nor Fazila said her research work, taking two years, would study the effects of beko (Oroxylum indicum) leaves extract in treating cervical cancer.
“Beko leaves are usually eaten raw as ‘ulam’ (salad) but the research that began in 2014 and the early tests done have shown positive results,” she told reporters, here, yesterday.
She will be using her RM29,835 Makna grant to study HPV 16, which is linked to cancer of the cervix, as most of the reported cases were from HPV 16 infection.
Neethia, meanwhile, said cervical cancer formed the third biggest number of cases of cancer recorded in Malaysia after breast cancer and lung cancer.
She said her research work, on a RM30,000 grant, would also take two years.
The focus, she said, would be more on the reaction of the HPV 16-type of cancer cells which were more aggressive than the HPV 18-type, by using the BH3-mimetics to kill the cancer cells. — Bernama