New Swedish study below [1].
When I first looked at the PCa literature, there was no hint that manganese (not magnesium) might be beneficial or otherwise.
A 2012 cell study [2] reported that manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI) might be useful in PCa. The study was not PCa-specific, but did use PC-3 cells. PC-3 is one of the three classic PCa cell lines. It "was originally generated from a bone metastasis of a grade IV prostatic adenocarcinoma".
"Cell proliferation is usually associated with an increase in cytoplasmic calcium ion, either from the extracellular space or from intracellular calcium stores. Much of the extracellular Ca2+ enters the cell via calcium-permeable channels. Indeed, tumor cell proliferation has been specifically linked to calcium ion channel activity in some, but not all, tumors, suggesting that calcium ion channel activity could be a useful surrogate marker of tumor cell proliferation. A powerful method for investigating calcium ion channel activity in vivo is monitoring the extent of tissue uptake of manganese ion, Mn2+, a Ca2+ analog."
The 2012 paper suggests that if we supplement with manganese, there will be preferential uptake by PCa cells. But is that desirable?
The new study used the three PCa cell lines: PC3, DU145 and LNCaP.
"In all cell lines, Mn increased the proportion of cells arrested in the G0/G1 phase and induced apoptosis." So it halted the cell division cycle & also caused cell death.
"To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating Mn as a potential agent in prostate cancer therapy."
To my knowledge too - & I'm not sure that I'm ready to put it to the test.
...
Manganese Superoxide Dismutase (MnSOD).
Manganese has oftened appeared in PCa papers, but in the context of the enzyme, manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD).
It turns out that there are genetic variations that have an impact on PCa survival: the AA, VA & VV genotypes. "... men with the AA genotype had a 10-fold gradient in risk for aggressive prostate cancer across quartiles of antioxidant status." [3]
From a 2017 study [4] that involved Allan Pantuck, who did the original PCa-pomegranate juice study (2006):
"The AA genotype has been associated with more aggressive prostate cancer and with more sensitivity to antioxidants than the VA or VV genotype."
"Patients with the AA genotype experienced a greater PSADT (PSA doubling time) lengthening in the liquid extract group (median PSADT increased from 13.6 months to 25.6 months ..." That is impressive.
How many of us might be AA men? In the study, there were 34 men - 22%. So about a quarter of us?
Interesting that men with more aggressive PCa might respond well to pomegranate juice.
-Patrick
[1] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/292...
[2] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
Effects of Curcumin and Lactoferrin to Inhibit the Growth and Migration of Prostatic Cancer Cells
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