“We found that melittin could be used with small molecules or chemotherapies, such as docetaxel, to treat highly-aggressive types of breast cancer. The combination of melittin and docetaxel was extremely efficient in reducing tumour growth in mice.”
Dr Duffy’s research was part of her PhD undertaken at Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research at the Cancer Epigenetics laboratory overseen by Associate Professor Pilar Blancafort.
“I began with collecting Perth honeybee venom because Perth bees are some of the healthiest in the world,” Dr Duffy said.
While there are 20,000 species of bees, Dr Duffy wanted to compare the effects of Perth honeybee venom to other honeybee populations in Ireland and England, as well as to the venom of bumblebees.
“I found that the European honeybee in Australia, Ireland and England produced almost identical effects in breast cancer compared to normal cells,” she said. “However, bumblebee venom was unable to induce cell death even at very high concentrations.”
One of the first reports of the effects of bee venom was published in Nature in 1950, where the venom reduced the growth of tumours in plants. However, Dr Duffy said it was only in the past two decades that interest grew substantially into the effects of honeybee venom on different cancers.
In the future, studies will be required to formally assess the optimum method of delivery of melittin, as well as toxicities and maximum tolerated doses.
