Ocular cancer, while representing only 3% to 5% of all malignancies, can be deadly in up to half of patients diagnosed with it.¹ But researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis hope to change those statistics—with a plant-based compound.^1,2 After more than a decade of research into the signaling molecules that are overactive in uveal melanoma, known as G-alpha(q), the discovery is a welcome one.¹ The researchers exposed lab-grown human melanoma cells to a natural compound present in the primrose plant family, and found it traps G-alpha(q) in its inactive state, effectively halting tumor growth.^1,2

The research showed the cancer-causing form of G-alpha(q) “doesn’t have to be turned off by force,” said study first author Michael D. Onken, PhD in a press release. “It just turns itself off every now and then on its own” and then it can be “locked down [with the primrose derivative], and that’s enough to shut down tumor cell growth.”¹

The team also realized the compound reverted a subset of melanoma cells back to a state that resembles normal pigmented cells.^1,2

Although an exciting discovery, the compound has a long road of research ahead before it can be considered as a potential treatment for humans. The next step is designing and executing studies using mouse models.^1,2