A preliminary study of the local treatment of preneoplastic and malignant skin lesions using methyl jasmonate

B. Palmieri 1, T. Iannitti 2,3, S. Capone 1,3, E. Flescher 4

1 Department of General Surgery and Surgical Specialties, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia Medical School, Surgical Clinic, Modena (Italy); 2 Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow (UK); 3 Poliambulatorio del Secondo Parere, Modena (Italy); 4 Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv (Israel)

---

• Oncology

Background: Jasmonates are plant stress hormones. These small hydrophobic compounds exhibit anti-cancer activities, in vitro and in vivo, against cancer cells of various histological origins. Moreover, they show a selective activity against transformed cells and affect drug-resistant cells as well.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the activity of a powerful jasmonate derivative, that is methyl jasmonate.

Material and Methods: Methyl jasmonate was applied topically on cancerous and pre-cancerous skin lesions from eight patients.

Results: Methyl jasmonate did not cause any meaningful local or systemic side effects. Three patients exhibited positive responses. Two patients had complete recovery and one had a recurrence of the lesion three months post treatment.

Conclusions: Methyl jasmonate is a potentially promising novel topical treatment for prcancerous and cancerous skin lesions. Methyl jasmonate should be evaluated in a larger series of patients.

Corresponding Author: Tommaso Iannitti, MD; e-mail: Tommaso.Iannitti@gcal.ac.uk

Free PDF Download