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J Cancer Metastasis Treat 2019;5:31 I http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2394-4722.2019.21 Page 20 of 36

Biography
Dr. Paul B. Tchounwou is Associate Dean of the CSET, Presidential Distinguished Professor, and Director
of the NIH-funded RCMI-Center for Environmental Health. He is an internationally recognized
biomedical scientist whose research focuses on the mechanisms of action of xenobiotic compounds and
cancer therapeutic drugs. He is author of 228 peer-reviewed publications and 507 scientific presentations.
He is the Editor-in-Chief of Environmental Toxicology (New York, USA) and of International Journal
of Environmental Research and Public Health (Basel, Switzerland). He has received several awards for
excellence including the 2003 Millennium Award for Research Excellence conferred by the White House
(Washington DC).

25. The potential role of milk´s amino acid- and miRNA signaling in the pathogenesis of
prostate cancer

1
2
3
1
Bodo C. Melnik , Swen Malte John , Pedro Carrera-Bastos , Loren Cordain , Gerd Schmitz 4
1 Department of Dermatology, Environmental Medicine and Health Theory, University of Osnabrück,
Osnabrück 49074, Germany.
2 Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University, Lund Se-22100, Sweden.
3 Department of Health and Exercise Science, Colorado State University, CO 80523, USA.
4 Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg
93053, Germany.

Epidemiological studies reported a dose relationship between cow’s milk intake and prostate cancer
(PCa). Lactose intolerance protects against the development of common cancers and a lower incidence
of lactose intolerance in comparison to the general population has been reported in PCa patients. Daily
milk consumption during adolescence in comparison to less frequent milk consumption increased the
risk of advanced PCa in adulthood by 3.2. An increased risk for PCa has also been observed for patients
with a history of severe acne, which is another milk-induced disease, pointing to common underlying
signaling pathways. Several components of milk such as dairy protein, calcium, galactose, miRNAs,
androgen precursors and estrogens derived from high-yield dairy cows have been implicated to play a role
in milk-induced PCa. We provide translational evidence, that milk’s essential amino acids via enhancing
the secretion of insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1 result in AKT-stimulated mouse double minute
2-mediated degradation of the tumor suppressor p53. Moreover, milk exosomal miRNA-125b, which
survives pasteurization, may directly repress TP53 mRNA. Milk-derived miRNA-148a via depletion
of DNA methyltransferase 1 and hypomethylation of cancer-germline genes may promote epithelial-
mesenchymal transition and cancer stem cells. Although boiling and ultraheat treatment of milk eliminates
milk’s miRNA signaling, milk’s amino acid signaling is not affected by thermal procedures. We recommend
that patients with severe acne vulgaris, adults with a history of severe acne, as well as individuals with a
family history of PCa should refrain from pasteurized cow’s milk to prevent PCa.

Biography
After his medical studies at the University of Münster, Germany, Bodo C. Melnik was visiting scientist
at the University of California San Francisco from 1982-1984. From 1984-1990, he was resident at
the Department of Dermatology, University of Düsseldorf. He is currently Associate Professor at the
Department of Dermatology, Environmental Medicine and Health Theory, University of Osnabrück,
Germany, member of the European Society for Dermatological Research and coeditor of the Journal of
Translational Research. His research interests are milk signaling and milk microRNA signal transduction in
diseases of civilization such as acne and prostate cancer.