MCP acts as an anti-adhesive agent. The chemical structure of the MCP encourages cancer cell lectins to bind to the pH modified pectin rather than human tissue. Once this has occurred, the cancer cells circulate through the blood stream attached to the pectin until excretion occurs or until the cells perish. Because secondary metastatic cancers are often more threatening to patients that the original tumor, MCP has great potential. Further research is needed to understand the biological and molecular regulation of carbohydrate recognition during the metastatic cycle and process.
Side effects are unusual and occur infrequently.
Dunning rat prostate cancer MAT-LyLu cells. 51 Cr labeling was used to measure the ability of modified citrus pectin to inhibit the adhesion of the MAT-LyLu cells to rat endothelial cells. Inhibition of MAT-LyLu cells by modified citrus pectin was measured by formation of colonies in aragose. On day 0, one million MAT-LyLu cells were injected subcutaneously into the hind limb of male Copenhagen rats. Then the number of MAT-LyLu tumor colonies in the lungs were counted.