Integrative Botanical Therapies in Dense Breast Cancer: Reducing Chemoresistance via Oxidative Stress Modulation
Molloy Faculty Mentor
Dr. Noelle Cutter, Ph.D
Presenter Major
BS Biology (PreProfMedProg/Grad StudiesTrack)
Presentation Type
Poster
Location
Wilbur 2nd Floor Corridor, Wilbur Arts Building, Molloy University
Start Date
1-5-2026 10:30 AM
End Date
1-5-2026 11:15 AM
Description (Abstract)
Dense breast tissue impacts the risk of developing breast cancer, as it presents white on a mammogram, just as breast cancer would. This resemblance could result in the misinterpretation of tumors as dense breast tissue, thus increasing the risk for the development of cancer that may go unnoticed. The priority of this research lies largely in finding an alternative and/or additional treatment to chemotherapy, specifically carboplatin, due to the damage it inflicts on healthy cells while effectively killing cancer. Antioxidants demonstrate potential to protect these healthy cells by mitigating the damage induced by carboplatin chemotherapy. This study investigates the use of native botanicals—Echinacea purpurea and Arctium lappa (burdock root)—as antioxidant co-therapies in MCF-7 (ER+) breast cancer cells and BR Epi epithelial cells. Chemotherapy drugs and antioxidants, both independent and in combination with each other, were tested to analyze and examine their effect on the progression and prognosis of breast cancer via the use of several assays. The impact of this research project is to determine the effect of the experimental treatments on dense breast cancer and dense breast tissue by testing their influence on the cells’ survival, apoptosis, senescence, metabolic activity, and antioxidant capacity. It was observed that antioxidant treatment significantly reduced senescence and enhanced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells, while protecting BR Epi cells from oxidative stress.
Related Pillar(s)
Study
Integrative Botanical Therapies in Dense Breast Cancer: Reducing Chemoresistance via Oxidative Stress Modulation
Wilbur 2nd Floor Corridor, Wilbur Arts Building, Molloy University
Dense breast tissue impacts the risk of developing breast cancer, as it presents white on a mammogram, just as breast cancer would. This resemblance could result in the misinterpretation of tumors as dense breast tissue, thus increasing the risk for the development of cancer that may go unnoticed. The priority of this research lies largely in finding an alternative and/or additional treatment to chemotherapy, specifically carboplatin, due to the damage it inflicts on healthy cells while effectively killing cancer. Antioxidants demonstrate potential to protect these healthy cells by mitigating the damage induced by carboplatin chemotherapy. This study investigates the use of native botanicals—Echinacea purpurea and Arctium lappa (burdock root)—as antioxidant co-therapies in MCF-7 (ER+) breast cancer cells and BR Epi epithelial cells. Chemotherapy drugs and antioxidants, both independent and in combination with each other, were tested to analyze and examine their effect on the progression and prognosis of breast cancer via the use of several assays. The impact of this research project is to determine the effect of the experimental treatments on dense breast cancer and dense breast tissue by testing their influence on the cells’ survival, apoptosis, senescence, metabolic activity, and antioxidant capacity. It was observed that antioxidant treatment significantly reduced senescence and enhanced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells, while protecting BR Epi cells from oxidative stress.
