Essiac may accelerate progression of oestrogen receptor dependent cancers

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Hi Barbara & All,

 

Essiac may help in some cancers but may accelerate the progression of

other cancers, for example oestrogen receptor dependent cancers.

 

See: Kulp KS, Montgomery JL, Nelson DO, Cutter B, Latham ER,

Shattuck DL, Klotz DM, Bennett LM..Essiac(®) and Flor-Essence(®)

herbal tonics stimulate the in vitro growth of human breast cancer

cells.Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2006 Mar 16; [Epub ahead of print] .

Biosciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,

Livermore , CA, USA. BACKGROUND: People diagnosed with cancer

often self-administer complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs)

to supplement their conventional treatments, improve health, or prevent

recurrence. Flor-Essence(®) and Essiac(®) Herbal Tonics are

commercially available complex mixtures of herbal extracts sold as

dietary supplements and used by cancer patients based on anecdotal

evidence that they can treat or prevent disease. In this study, we

evaluated Flor-Essence(®) and Essiac(®) for their effects on the

growth of human tumor cells in culture. METHODS: The effect of Flor-

Essence(®) and Essiac(®) herbal tonics on cell proliferation was

tested in MCF-7, MDA-MB-436, MDA-MB-231, and T47D cancer cells

isolated from human breast tumors. Estrogen receptor (ER) dependent

activation of a luciferase reporter construct was tested in MCF-7 cells.

Specific binding to the ER was tested using an ICI 182,780 competition

assay. RESULTS: Flor-Essence(®) and Essiac(®) herbal tonics at

1%, 2%, 4% and 8% stimulated cell proliferation relative to untreated

controls in both estrogen receptor positive (MCF-7 and T47D) and

estrogen receptor negative (MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-436) cell lines.

Exposure to the tonics also produced a dose-dependent increase in ER

dependent luciferase activity in MCF-7 cells. A 10(-7) M concentration

of ICI 182,780 inhibited the induction of ER dependent luciferase activity

by Flor-Essence(®) and Essiac(®), but did not affect cell

proliferation. CONCLUSION: Flor-Essence(®) and Essiac(®) Herbal

Tonics can stimulate the growth of human breast cancer cells through

ER mediated as well as ER independent mechanisms of action. PMID:

16541326 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

 

Leonard SS, Keil D, Mehlman T, Proper S, Shi X, Harris GK. Essiac

tea: scavenging of reactive oxygen species and effects on DNA

damage. .J Ethnopharmacol. 2006 Jan 16;103(2):288-96. Epub 2005

Oct 13. Pathology and Physiology Research Branch, Health Effects

Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and

Health, 1095 Willowdale Rd, MS/2015, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA.

SEL5 Essiac, a tea reportedly developed by the Ojibwa tribe

of Canada and widely publicized as a homeopathic cancer treatment, is

prepared from a mixture of four herbs Arctium lappa, Rumex acetosella,

Ulmus rubra and Rheum officinale. Each of these herbs has been

reported to possess antioxidant and anti-cancer activity. Essiac itself

has also been reported to demonstrate anti-cancer activity in vitro,

although its effects in vivo are still a matter of debate. We prepared an

extract of Essiac tea from a concentration of 25mg/mL and boiled it for

10 min. From this preparation we used concentrations of 5, 10, 25 and

50% to measure Essiac effects. In this study, we examined the effects

of Essiac on free radical scavenging and DNA damage in a non-cellular

system, as well as the effects Essiac on lipid peroxidation using the

RAW 264.7 cell line. We observed, using electron spin resonance, that

Essiac effectively scavenged hydroxyl, up to 84% reduction in radical

signal at the 50% tea preparation concentration, and superoxide

radicals, up to 82% reduction in radical signal also at the 50% tea

preparation concentration, as well as prevented hydroxyl radical-

induced DNA damage. In addition, Essiac inhibited hydroxyl radical-

induced lipid peroxidation by up to 50% at the 50% tea preparation

concentration. These data indicate that Essiac tea possesses potent

antioxidant and DNA-protective activity, properties that are common to

natural anti-cancer agents. This study may help to explain the

mechanisms behind the reported anti-cancer effects of Essiac. PMID:

16226859 [PubMed - in process]

 

Al-Sukhni W, Grunbaum A, Fleshner N. Remission of hormone-

refractory prostate cancer attributed to Essiac. Can J Urol. 2005

Oct;12(5):2841-2. Division of Urology, The Princess Margaret Hospital,

University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Essiac is a popular

complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) that is utilized by many

cancer patients in North America. Much anecdotal reporting exists

about its cancer-fighting qualities, but so far no clinical trials have been

preformed to validate those claims. We describe here the case of a 64-

year-old man whose hormone-refractory prostate cancer responded

well to Essiac tea. Publication Types: Case Reports PMID: 16274521

[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

Cheung S, Lim KT, Tai J. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties

of ESSIAC and Flor-Essence. Oncol Rep. 2005 Nov;14(5):1345-50.

Department of Pediatrics, Center for Complementary Medicine

Research, BC Research Institute for Children's and Women's Health,

University of British Columbia, 4480 Oak Street, Vancouver, British

Columbia, Canada. Essiac (ES) and Flor-Essence (FE) are two herbal

teas widely taken by North American cancer patients during chemo- and

radiation-therapy. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of

these two herbal teas were assessed in this study. Cell-free Trolox

equivalent antioxidant capacity assay shows that at 1/5 dilution, ES and

FE have hydroxyl radical scavenging activity equivalent to 10.65 microM

and 5.74 microM of Trolox respectively. Treatment with ES at 1/10 and

1/20 dilutions significantly increased nitric oxide (NO) production by

murine RAW 264.7 cells, but inhibited NO production in a

concentration-dependent manner by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-

stimulated cells. In contrast, FE at 1/10 and 1/20 dilutions did not

significantly induce NO production by RAW 264.7 cells, nor did it, at

these dilutions, inhibit the NO production by LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7

cells. RT-PCR assay shows that both 1/20 and 1/100 dilutions of ES

and FE induced mRNA expression of IL-1beta, inducible nitric oxide

synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) pro-inflammatory

molecules in RAW 264.7 cells compared to untreated controls. Addition

of ES and FE at 1/20 and 1/100 dilutions to LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7

cells did not alter IL-1beta, iNOS and COX-2 mRNA expression in these

cells. ES and FE treatment did not affect TNFalpha mRNA expression

in non-stimulated or LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Our data show

that ES but not FE stimulated NO release by non-stimulated and

inhibited LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. There were only minor

differences between ES and FE in their induction of mRNA expression

of pro-inflammatory molecules. Further research is needed to

investigate the differential activities of these two herbal teas in

stimulating pro-inflammatory mediators release by RAW 264.7 cells.

PMID: 16211307 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

Boon H, Wong J. Botanical medicine and cancer: a review of the safety

and efficacy. Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2004 Dec;5(12):2485-501.

Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, Toronto, ON M5S 2S2, Canada.

heather.boon It is currently estimated that > 50% of all

patients diagnosed with cancer explore complementary and alternative

medicine - especially herbal medicine. We conducted a comprehensive

review to assess the safety and efficacy of herbal medicines commonly

used by patients in an attempt to: prevent cancer; treat cancer; and

treat adverse effects associated with conventional cancer treatments.

Current evidence suggests that Asian ginseng, garlic, green tea,

tomatoes and soy intake as part of the diet may be useful in preventing

various cancers; additional research is needed in order to determine the

efficacy of essiac, evening primrose oil, mistletoe, reishi, shiitake and

turmeric as cancer treatments; and ginger may be effective in treating

chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. PMID: 15571467

[PubMed - in process]

 

Best regards,

Phil