Harbor Branch looks to ocean life for possible cancer cures

[Guest guest]

Harbor Branch looks to ocean life for possible cancer cures

TCPalm - West Palm Beach,FL*

BY ASHLEY GABRIEL Correspondent

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/may/27/harbor-branch-looks-to-ocean-

life-for-possible/

FORT PIERCE — The submersible lurks deep in the ocean, moving

swiftly past small creatures and shipwrecks. It's all part of a

mission to help fight cancer.

The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute's -Sea-Link craft,

explores for sponge and coral samples off the Bahamian coast.

Researchers then take those samples back to labs in Fort Pierce to

test their ability to fight cancer, fungal and bacterial infections.

McCarthy, a research professor at Harbor Branch, tests more

than 200 samples of soft coral, sponge and algae per year in the

facility's Biomedical Marine Research division.

" Sponges, like humans, have 60 percent bacteria " in their bodies,

McCarthy said. " Some produce chemicals that can kill other bacteria. "

So researchers place samples of the creatures in small tubes to see

if they survive and grow without being killed off by infection.

McCarthy said only about 10 percent of the 200 tested samples

progress into larger flasks and containers for more rigorous testing.

Many people are not immunized against existing fungal and bacterial

infections, plus new more serious and fatal infections are cropping

up, McCarthy said. And there are a limited amount of anti-fungal

remedies that are effective.

McCarthy and staff are working to increase the number of medicines

available.

" Once a year, depending on funding, we go to sea for one to two

weeks, " McCarthy said. " Our most successful location has been the

Bahamas with many anti-cancer agents. "

The program is paid for by Florida Atlantic University, which runs

Harbor Branch. The budget changes from year to year.

None of the experimental samples have been approved by the federal

Food and Drug Administration or have found their way to store

shelves since the program began in 1984.

But that isn't stopping the scientists at Harbor Branch. The biggest

priority is fighting cancers such as pancreatic, lung and breast.

Chemists and biochemists use the growing bacteria from McCarthy's

tested samples to see if the samples in the test tubes can be used

on cancer cells.

If the mixture proves successful, researchers will preserve the

sponge by creating a reproduction to preserve the chemicals instead

of taking more samples from the ocean.

" Certain sponges have excellent potential toward (curing) pancreatic

cancer, " said Ester Guzman, a post-doctoral investigator with Harbor

Branch. " But we are still years away. We are in the very early

stages. "

McCarthy, however, said he remains hopeful.

" Things are always looking promising, " McCarthy said. " One day, we

will make it into the clinics. "

is a Florida Atlantic University student working as a

correspondent for Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers as part of a

senior-level journalism course.