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13 July 2005
Breast Cancer Expert Cautions On Herbal Usage 
A new fact-sheet from Cornell University suggests that menopausal women should exercise care with herbal supplements such as black cohosh, dong quai and red clover as they may increase breast cancer risk. The risk stems from the estrogen-like actions that herbal supplements and soy compounds may invoke. "Although there is no direct evidence that any herbal medicines can increase or decrease breast cancer risk, some herbs can have estrogen-like actions and thus raise concern about their long-term use," said researcher Barbour Warren. "The lack of any regulatory oversight has set up a marketplace for herbal supplements, which is such a mess that women should have lots of reservations in taking these supplements," Warren added. Concerns about breast cancer risk and herbal supplements arise from the use of estrogen-like compounds from plants, called phytoestrogens. It was thought that these compounds could possibly block the effect of estrogen in the body and perhaps reduce breast cancer risk. But recent clinical studies have shown that women on diets high in soy phytoestrogens experience greater cell multiplication in the breast. It is believed that this could be a preliminary step in cancer formation by leading to the outgrowth of latent cancer cells. Warren said the main problem with herbal supplements was the lack of any proper clinical trials to gauge their effectiveness and safety. Additionally, herbal products were not subject to the same rigorous quality control procedures that regular pharmaceutical medicines were. "Just because herbal medicines are 'natural' products does not mean that they are safer than conventional medicines," he said. "The ingredients in herbal medicines can also have adverse effects and lead to health problems." Read the full report: at http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/
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