Abstract
Complementary and alternative medicine use is common amongst cancer patients. In many
surveys, herbal medicines are amongst the most commonly used group of treatments.
Herbal remedies are believed by the general public to be safe, cause less side-effects
and less likely to cause dependency.
The authors performed a literature review to assess which herbal approaches have had
associated cancer case reports and determine which of these have been studied in prospective
research. Eighteen case reports of patients having apparent antitumour effects from
herbal therapy and 21 case reports of toxic effects of herbs used by cancer patients
were identified. Clinicaltrials.gov and MEDLINE (via PubMed) were searched for each
of the herbal products identified in these reports. Clinical trials in cancer populations
were identified for green tea extracts or compounds (n = 34), phytoestrogens (n = 27), mistletoe (n = 8), Ganoderma lucidum (n = 1), noni (n = 1) and Silymarin (n = 1). Daikenchuto, PC-SPES, Nyoshinsan/TJ and Saw palmetto have also been studied prospectively.
In conclusion, some of the herbs with promising case report findings have undergone
prospective clinical investigations but many others have either not yet been explored
or the results have not been reported in English. Unconventional therapies, such as
herbs and minerals, used in ancient medical traditions have led to the identification
of active anticancer agents. Mechanisms to support prospective research with such
approaches are discussed.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 27, 2010
Accepted:
November 23,
2010
Received in revised form:
November 10,
2010
Received:
September 13,
2010
Identification
Copyright
Published by Elsevier Inc.
