Tumors that occur in the neck and head, excluding the eyeball and brain, are called head and neck tumors. There are various types of tumors depending on where these tumors occur. However, the most malignant ones are called head and neck cancers. Also, cancer is distinguished from laryngeal, pharyngeal, and tongue, depending on where it occurs. Oral cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, and laryngeal cancer are mainly caused by excessive smoking and drinking. So secondary cancers and duplications occur in the same head and neck, esophagus, and lungs are common. A high risk of cancer also characterizes it. Since it occurs most often in middle-aged and older men, its prevalence is increasing with the aging of the population.

Fucoidan is a sulfated polysaccharide mainly composed of fucose obtained from brown algae among seaweeds. Fucoidan has been recognized and recommended for a wide range of bioactivity. Its uses in the therapeutic field have been dramatically studied in the last ten years. In particular, the effects of inducing apoptosis and suppressing angiogenesis on cancer cells have been clarified in various tests using cells and mice.

In addition, Fucoidan has the appeal of being tolerable at high doses without causing any side effects. On the other hand, the prevalence of head and neck squamous epithelial cancer is the 6th highest globally. The cause of its onset is a particular course, tobacco, human papillomavirus, and other viral infections. And it is said that cancer has a 5-year survival rate of less than 50% and is challenging to treat. Standard treatments include surgical removal of tumors, radio waves, and anticancer drug treatment, but there are side effects. Hence, natural remedies such as Fucoidan are attracting attention.

So, in this blog, I want to explain the study “Fucoidan Exerts Anticancer Effects Against Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma In Vitro” by Wiktoria Blaszczak et al., that investigates various cervical flat epithelial cell lines’ effects on Fucoidan derived from Fucus vesiculosus (FV).

First, they examined cell viability that adds Hibamata-derived fucoidan’ (manufactured by Sigma) to human tongue squamous epithelial cancer cell line H103, human head and neck squamous epithelial cancer cell line FaDu, and human cervical cancer cell line KB. As a result, the viability of all cell lines was significantly reduced after 24 hours by adding Fucoidan of 100 µg / ml or more. Almost no viable cancer cells were observed after 48 and 72 hours (Fig.1). To investigate whether it affects cell survival, we examined the cell cycle and active oxygen. The cell cycle is a series of flows that occur when cells divide and multiply and G0 that pauses division. Then, it repeats, returning to the G0 phase after the phase, the G1 phase in which cells grow, the S phase in which DNA is replicated, and the M phase in which cells prepare for division. When the cell cycle of the above cell group to which Fucoidan was added was examined, it was found that H103 and FaDu were G1 / S and KB was arrested at G1, and cell division was inhibited.

In addition, active oxygen is produced when cells choose to die by themselves and is one of the means to induce apoptosis. In H103, the active oxygen production increased in a concentration-dependent fucoidan, FaDu did not change, and KB decreased (Fig. 2). These results found that Fucoidan induces cell death by stopping the cell cycle with G1 / S for H103 and FaDu and increasing active oxygen for H103. For KB, G1 arrested the cell cycle and found that reactive oxygen species production had little effect. This study demonstrated that Fucoidan could induce apoptosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells and found that its mechanism of action varies from cell to cell. Thus, Fucoidan is expected to be used as a new treatment for cancer.