A Herbal Approach for Breast Cancer Treatment

The second most common type of cancer is breast cancer. There have been estimates of new cases, deaths, and survivors in the United States for this year: 232, 340, 39,620, and 2,829,041, respectively. These numbers are very high for just one year that is the most recent, but with a study that has been done is being analyzed and confirmed for it to be a possible treatment.

A research team at LSU led by their research professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Madhwa Raj, has done a study finding a possible herbal approach to breast cancer. The group had inquired about known protective chemical nutrients in foods and found six: Curcumin, Isoflavone, Indo-3-Carbinol, C-phycocyani, Rservatrol, and Quercetin. These six compounds are found in natural foods: vegetables, fruits, spices, and tea. The research failed when each of the six compounds was tested separately on sample breast cancer cells. However, 100% death was found in the sample breast cancer cells when all six of them were combined. This super cocktail did not cause any harm to the control cells in the killing of the breast cancer cells which is a positive sign. Testing still needs to be done to confirm this approach as a treatment, and more specifically, on the BRCA1 and BRAC2 genes. Studies have been done before which show that four of the six known compounds making the super cocktail could be possible useful components.

Two other possible benefits from this treatment was found. The first is that it could be a possible treatment for ovarian cancer since two of the compounds target those genes. This brings us to the second benefit which is the identification of essential genes and this can only help researchers to confirm this herbal approach more as a treatment for breast cancer.