Swee Chong

Citation

Thesis Title
Phytochemical-rich potato extracts and potential for risk reduction in tamoxifen treatment of breast cancer

Read article at Massey Research Online:

Standard medicines for breast cancer such as tamoxifen are not effective in all occasions and have considerable side effects. Existing knowledge suggests that vegetable consumption may reduce the risk of breast cancer because of the phytochemicals contained in the plants. Ms Chong’s research focused on a purple potato variety ‘Urenika’ and showed that an extract made from ‘Urenika’ suppressed the growth of breast cancer cells. The potato extract also blocked cell growth stimulated by estrogen or tamoxifen in breast cancer cell culture experiments. Ms Chong conducted a breast cancer animal study and observed stimulatory effect of tamoxifen treatment that may warrant future investigation. This thesis represents a significant contribution to the potential use of potato extracts in reducing the risk of tamoxifen in stimulating breast cancer growth.

Supervisors
Professor Julian Heyes
Professor Kathryn Stowell