
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 22, 1995                   TAG: 9503220081
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Cox News Service
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

BIRCH BARK TESTED AS CANCER DRUG

An abundant chemical found in the bark of common birch trees appears in experiments on animals to be highly effective in the treatment of melanoma, an often fatal type of skin cancer, scientists said Tuesday.

The researchers said they expect to begin clinical studies of the effectiveness of the chemical on human melanoma patients this year.

The substance, betulinic acid, has been known to botanists and pharmacologists for decades, but had not previously been tried as a possible treatment for melanoma, said researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Previous experiments had applied the compound to other forms of cancer, on which it seems to have no effect, said John Pezzuto, head of the university's department of medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy.

Its apparent effect on melanoma cells was discovered in a government-sponsored screening program in which thousands of natural substances are tested for their potential use against cancer and human immunodeficiency virus.

Pezzuto described the discovery Tuesday at the 86th annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research in Toronto.

``The activity of the compound is remarkable,'' he said. ``It certainly is the most promising discovery among more than 2,500 plant extracts we've studied.''

Tests on laboratory mice indicated it had no significant side effects, even at high doses, he said.

And it is cheap.

Pezzuto said that from a yard where firewood was being sold, he and his colleagues scrounged enough birch bark to make more than 100 human doses of betulinic acid.

by CNB