Safety and Efficacy of Phytomedicines in Cancer Prevention and Treatment
In this review we discuss some aspects of herbal use either to prevent cancer or to treat the disease or the side effects of chemotherapy. The most powerful reasons, for cancer patients, to use phytomedicines are related to the wish to leave no option unt
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Safety and Efficacy of Phytomedicines in Cancer Prevention and Treatment Giuseppina Benoni and Laura Cuzzolin
Abstract In this review we discuss some aspects of herbal use either to prevent cancer or to treat the disease or the side effects of chemotherapy. The most powerful reasons, for cancer patients, to use phytomedicines are related to the wish to leave no option untried and to the dissatisfaction with mainstream oncology treatments. In the review, herbs commonly used in cancer and their mechanism of action are referred. Moreover, clinical trials about the use of some herbs for treating the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation are cited. As regards the safety data of phytomedicines in cancer patients, considering the narrow therapeutic window of chemotherapic drugs, the risk of clinically relevant herb-drug interactions can increase: in the USA more than 100,000 deaths per year can be attributed to drug interactions, most of them connected to the use of herbs. Some experts believe that the potential risk of herb drug interactions is enough to recommend patients on chemotherapy not to use herbal therapies. At present, oncologists must be encouraged to discuss herbal use with their patients, and they should be aware of possible herb anticancer drug interactions. Furthermore, physicians should advise patients to refrain from using herbs, especially when their effects have not been well investigated. Keywords Herbal drugs · Cancer · Chemoprevention
13.1 Introduction Many people are keen to use herbal medicines either to prevent cancer or to treat the disease or side effects of chemotherapy, but most remain unaware of the limited scientific evidence regarding the efficacy of these remedies and the potential drug interactions and adverse effects that may result from their consumption. Most trials are small, open-label, uncontrolled and not randomised. Preliminary evidence suggests that some herbs may have a role in preventing cancer or adjoin therapies for G. Benoni (B) Department of Medicine & Public Health-Section of Pharmacology, University of Verona, Italy, Policlinico G.B. Rossi, Piazzale L.A. Scuro, 37134 Verona, Italy e-mail: [email protected]
K.G. Ramawat (ed.), Herbal Drugs: Ethnomedicine to Modern Medicine, c Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009 DOI 10.1007/978-3-540-79116-4 13,
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its treatment, but it appears that herbal medicines are unlikely to provide a miracle cure for cancer [1], and their effects are not always predictable. Most cancer patients combine, rather than replace, conventional therapy with herbs [2]. Studies on cancer patients sampled from the general population indicate that herb users are mostly young women high on the social ladder [3, 4] who are looking for miraculous cures [5]. In addition, they tend to be more health conscious [6], are willing to spend out of pocket [7] or are being treated with chemotherapy [8]. Several studies indicate that young patients and those who live long after receiving a cancer diagnosis are more l
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