Students of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) conducted research on jellyfish as an alternative to breast cancer inhibitors. Until now, the exact cause of cancer is not known, yet. One of the most common types of cancer is breast cancer. According to health data, by 2020 there were 2.3 million women diagnosed with breast cancer. This disease is the most common cause of death in women with cases reaching 685,000 deaths. The development of breast cancer treatment continues, including medicinal products derived from marine biota that have a high potential to overcome this disease.
The UGM student team specifically observed the potential for jellyfish venom proteins to be associated with cancer, especially breast cancer that many women suffer from. They have innovated the use of jellyfish in the venom protein to be analyzed and tested for computer predictions in the inhibition of breast cancer. Team Leader, Aden Arrafit Bahtiarsyah explained that jellyfish has abundant proteins, vitamins and minerals. In addition, jellyfish also contains other important substances, namely venom proteins from nematocyst cells that have the potential for treatment.
Aden revealed that jellyfish venom has been proven to contain antimicrobial, anti-oxidative, anticoagulant, antitumor and cytotoxic compounds. Jellyfish is one of the living creatures with abundant numbers and spread almost all over the waters of Indonesia. Jellyfish has simple shapes like umbrellas and tentacles. Khintan Maulin conveyed that the uniqueness and abundance of jellyfish attract researchers in the field of marine biology.