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Home  Picks  Figures  Great Investors  Vault  Misc Contact   c2003-06 Thomas Barnard

 

 

[Disclaimer:  I have found the information below largely on the internet. I make mistakes, so do your own research before changing your habits.]

[a work in progress]

 

 

Some Ideas for Dealing with Breast Cancer

    

            As I did my looking around on Google and Microsoft Search for breast cancer and various helpful agents, I was disappointed that I did not find as many connections as I did for prostate cancer.  For a while it seemed that breast cancer was getting all the attention, apparently prostate caught up, so it seemed to me breast cancer needs another push.  Using these findings as a starting point for your own inquiries, this is what I found for breast cancer:

 

Coenzyme Q10

            The only study I’ve found for coenzyme Q10 breast cancer was the one Danish study already discussed with 32 women with “high risk” breast cancer.  All survived a 24-month trial.  In this study coenzyme Q10 was not the only supplement taken.  Also taken were 2,850 mg of vitamin-C, 2,500 mg of vitamin E, 58 mgs of beta-carotene, 387 micrograms of selenium (plus secondary vitamins and minerals), 1.2 gm of gamma linolenic acid, 3.5 grams of n-3 fatty acids, as well as 90 mg of CoQ10.

But the reason we focus on coenzyme Q10 is because two of the patients raised the level of CoQ supplementation to 300mg and 390 mg on their own, and saw their tumors disappear.[12] 

See the Chapter on coenzyme Q10.

 

Ibuprofen (a drug)

            A study of 80,741 women over four years suggests that when ibuprofen has been used on a regular basis for 10 years a woman is 50% less likely to develop breast cancer.  Another NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug), aspirin, reduced breast cancer risk by 22%.  The study was done by Randall Harris and his colleagues at the Center of Molecular Epidemiology and Environmental Health at Ohio State University.

            Harris said, “We’re discovering that these compounds – NSAIDs – aren’t just for pain and inflammation relief.  This study shows that the drugs also have significant anticancer effects.”

            The study showed that even those in high-risk groups, such as those who were obese, or had never given birth, or had a family history of breast cancer, had the same level of reduction as others if they were regular NSAID users.

            Harris thinks it’s the anti-inflammatory properties of NSAIDs that makes them so effective.  It is thought that these drugs block the COX-2 gene responsible for triggering the inflammation process.  For reasons that have yet to be explained, the COX-2 gene gets turned on in breast cancer and other cancers, and doesn’t turn off.

            Harris said, “We think that NSAIDs turn off unnecessary inflammation by blocking COX-2.  Toning down this kind of dysfunctional, uncontrolled inflammation can block critical steps in tumor development, such as cell division, the growth of new blood vessels and the spread of the tumor to other areas of the body.”

            Further he said, “There’s too much converging and compelling evidence to deny the effects of NSAIDs.  Most malignant tumors, including colon, breast, prostate, and lung appear to be inhibited by NSAID use.”  Harris lives by his research, he takes 200 mg of ibuprofen per day.

            Ibuprofen has some side effects in some people including irritated stomachs, so take it with food, and consult your doctor if trouble develops.

 

 IP6 (Inositol Hexaphosphate, a sugar, a form of Niacin)

            Inositol Hexaphosphate has been shown in vitro (in a test tube) to be effective against several breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7, MDA-MB-321 & -435.  There have been no human studies conducted, but a study of human breast cancer cells has shown that IP6 “inhibits the metastasis of human breast cancer cells in vitro through effects on cancer cell adhesion, migration and invasion.”[11]

 

Fish Oil - Omega 3 Oil

            One thing that is clearly apparent is that omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids enhance tumor development, while equal increases in omega-3 oils delay or reduce tumor development.[1]

            This was confirmed in a EURAMIC (European Community Multicenter Study on Antioxidants, Myocardial Infarction, and Cancer) breast cancer study in 1991-02.  “The ratio of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids to total omega-6 fat showed an inverse association with breast cancer in four of five centers.”[2]

 

Tomatoes – Lycopene

            Epidemiological studies seem to suggest that lycopene has a protective effect against breast cancer, and low levels of lycopene in the diet and in the blood have been correlated with an increased risk of breast cancer.[3]

            But my reading also turned up studies that didn’t show a thing.  In prostate cancer, tomato sauce was found to be the most effective source.  My suggestion would be to eat tomatoes and tomato sauce.

 

Vitamin C

            See the chapter on lung cancer.  Although vitamin C in pill form may be of some very modest help against breast cancer, the concentrations possible in intravenous solutions can be much stronger, and evidence suggests this may be a useful avenue of research with little harm for those who want to use themselves as subjects (although a Phase I safety trial suggested that those who form kidney stones, or have a propensity to form such stones should stay away).

 

Vitamin E

            As previously mentioned, the HOPE-TOO study did not show any benefit for heart disease or cancer from vitamin E. 

            Nevertheless, other studies shows that vitamin E may have a significant protective effect, but it is a trick to get this benefit because alpha tocopherol, the most common commercial product, and which does work very well in many instances, does not appear to work very well in breast cancer.  The form required is tocotrienol.

            Tocotrienols have been demonstrated to inhibit the growth of estrogen receptor cells by as much as 50% in cultures.  Alpha tocopherol, where shown to work (which was not the case in all studies) required 20 times as much as tocotienols to do provide the same 50% growth inhibition benefit.

            It is important to take any vitamin E supplement with some fat, so take them with a meal or with fatty acid capsules like fish oil.[4]

 

Selenium

            So far, the evidence for selenium as an agent against cancer is not as clear for breast cancer as it is for some of the others.  Dr. Larry Clark published a large, prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind Nutritional Prevention of Cancer (NPC) clinical study.  I previously mentioned that this study showed that selenium reduced lung cancers by 46%.  It also reduced prostate cancer by 63% and colon cancer by 58%.  Apparently there was some smaller, but beneficial effect in breast cancer.  However, the Nurses’ Health Study of 62,641 women showed no protective effect of selenium as measured by toenail selenium levels.[5]

            Clark, in critiquing the study, was not sure that toenail measurement was a reliable way to assess breast cancer risk.[6]  I suspect it may be a wise thing to include a small supplement of 200 mcg in your vitamin regimen.  Here’s why:

            Five percent of breast cancers are caused by an inherited condition, in which the  BRCA1 gene is mutated, which otherwise repairs damaged chromosomes.  This causes 60% of those women with the genetic defect to develop breast cancer by age 50, and increasing thereafter.  A Polish study indicates that this risk can be significantly reduced with selenium supplementation.[7]

            Researchers from the University of Chicago, Dr. Ya Jun Hu and Dr. Alan M. Diamond have discovered that another genetic polymorphism found frequently in breast cancer tumors, specifically in the gene for the antioxidant selenoprotein glutathione peroxidase (GPx-1), which leads to a reduced response to selenium.  Diamond said that women with this genetic problem “require more selenium to see the same level of protein activity and the same amount of protection as other people.”[8]

            Those are very specific cases.  I think the jury is out on this one.  I have not come across a downside except the general warning: selenium is a mineral, not a vitamin.  It is important not to overdose.  200 mcg is the usual amount used in testing.

 

Green Tea Extract

            On a worldwide basis, only water is consumed more than tea.  Black tea and green tea both come from the leaves of Camellia sinensis.  To make green teas the leaves are steamed or heated soon after harvesting, but before fermentation starts, which would transform the plant’s polyphenols.  And it is these compounds that have the antioxidants, which appear to be so effective.

            Black teas are crushed and dried, the polyphenols oxidize into other compounds such as theaflavins.

            Anna H. Wu of the University of Southern California recorded diet and other facts of 501 women with breast cancer and 594 comparable cancerfree women.  All of Asian descent.  They found one of the chief differences between the two groups was that the women in the healthy group were far more likely to drink green tea.  The researchers found that drinking an average of 85 mililiters of green tea per day (equivalent to six table spoons) appear to cut a woman’s breast cancer risk by almost 30% as compared with those who did not drink green tea.[9]

 

Garlic, onions (allium vegetables)

            A population study of 345 patients diagnosed with primary breast carcinoma in north-east France with matched controls showed that garlic and onions tended to reduce risk, as did the consumption of fiber (perhaps confirming the value of IP6, which comes from fiber).  It also stated that saturated fat increased risk, and unsaturated fat reduced risk for breast cancer.[10]

 

 

           

Pomegranates, Pomegranate Juice, ellagic acid

Pomegranate extract, fermented juice, seed oil appear to inhibit “breast cancer cell proliferation and invasion, and to promote breast cancer cell apoptosis.”[13]

It is not known what form is the best, scientists lean towards extracts because they don’t have the high sugar content of juices.

 

Broccoli , cabbage, cauliflower (Indoles: Indole-3-carbinol)

Evidence coming from epidemiological studies, laboratory studies, and animal studies appear to show that dietary indole-3-carbinol prevents the development of estrogen-enhanced cancers including breast, endometrial, and cervical cancers.  Estrogen increases the growth and survival of tumors, while indole-3-carbinol causes the growth to stop, and increases apoptosis and inhibits the negative effects of estrogen.  A study by the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Research Institute showed that indole-3-carbinol together with genistein increases apoptosis, and may be useful as a preventative or therapeutic agent.[14]

 

Sunlight – Vitamin D (a hormone, not strictly a vitamin)

            Apparently, there is an enzyme in breast tissue that activates vitamin D, which previously was thought only made in the kidneys.  That was what research found at Birmingham University and St. George’s Hospital, London.  They found elevated levels of this enzyme in breast tumors, which suggests a local effort by the breast tissue to ward off cancer.

            They also suggested that the rise in breast cancer in the U.K. might be linked to the fact that there are low levels of vitamin D in women.  Exposure to sunlight is the best source of Vitamin D, and previous epidemiological (population) studies have hinted that higher levels of vitamin D may contribute to lower breast cancer rates in sunny climates like the Mediterranean.[15]

 

 

Sleep and Melatonin (hormone)

            It’s an interesting thing but under constant light, researchers find that mice with human breast cancers grow seven times faster, and soak up incredible amounts of linoleic acid.  During the day cancer cells are active and linoleic acid appears to stimulate their growth.  But at night cancer cells appear to go to sleep.  But turn on the lights and we suppress melatonin, and cancers stay awake.  Could this be the reason that nurses who work the night shift have high rates of breast and colon cancer?[16]  Apparently, there is not a lot of downside for melatonin use except for women seeking to become pregnant it acts as a contraceptive.

            But on the other hand, melatonin may not have any effect on breast cancer.  Or so researchers thought as a result of a study on the island of Guernsey in the British Isles.  They concluded, “The results of this study do not support the hypothesis that endogenous melatonin concentration is a major factor in breast cancer.”[17]

            I conclude that the research is not really strong for melatonin so far in my researches, and hormones are not as innocent as antioxidants or other supplements, although there are theoretical reasons to believe that it may have some use.  Certainly, it suggests that a restful night of sleep is a good thing.  Stay tuned.

 

Exercise

In the February issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, a study showed that women who reported high levels of physical activity from as young as age 16 in some cases cut their risk of developing breast cancer after menopause in half, compared to women who reported no strenuous activity.[18]

In those who have already completed a course of chemotherapy, it was demonstrated that infection fighting T-cells, which drop during chemotherapy, can bounce back with appropriate exercise.[19]

So, no matter what, exercise helps.

 

Emotional Support Groups

            One year of support group meetings in women with metastatic breast cancer resulted in a survival time of 36 months for those in the meetings versus 19 months for those in the control group.[20]

            This was a small test of 86 patients.  It would be nice to see additional testing confirm this, but certainly if patients feel some benefit, it looks like science may back it up.

 

 

Updated: 2006 Aug 29


 

[1] Cave, W.T., Jr.,Endocrine Unit, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Nutrition, 1996 Jan;12(1 Suppl):S39-42

[2] Simonsen, N., et.al., American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol.147, Issue 4, 342-352

[3] Rao A.V.., Agarwal S. Role of antioxidant lycopene in cancer and heart disease.  J Am Col Nutr 2000 Oct;19(5):563-9

[4] LE Magazine, May 2002

[5] Garland M, Morris JS, Rosner BA, et al., Toenail trace element levels as biomarkers; reproducibility over a 6-year period, Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 1993:2:493-497

[6] Clark LC, Alberts DS.  Selenium and cancer: risk or protection. J Natl Cancer Inst 1995;87:473-75.  Toenail selenium as a measurement “suggests the potential for considerable misclassification in the exposure variable that could result in a substantial attenuation of the observed relative risk.”

[7] Kowalska E et al.  Increased rates of chromosome breakage in BRCA1 carriers are normalized by oral selenium supplementation.  Cancer Epidem Biomarkers Prev 2005;14(5):1302-06.

[8] Cancer Res 2003;63:3347-3351

[9] Science News, Sept. 20, 2003, Vol. 164, No. 12

[10] Challier B. Perarnau J.M. Viel J.F. Eur J Epidemiol., 1998 Dec;14(8):737-47.

[11] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=14666663

[12] http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag96/96jan1f.htm

[13] http://www.raysahelian.com/pomegranate.html

[14] http://www.lifeextensionvitamins.com/newprforcapr.html

[16] DeNoon, Daniel, Hormone Melatonin Slows Breast Cancer, http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/71/88159.htm

[17] Travis, Ruth C., et al, Melatonin and Breast Cancer: A Prospective Study, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol.96, No.6, March 17, 2004

[18] http://www.webmd.com/content/article/60/67202.htm

[19] http://www.science.psu.edu/alert/Mastro6-2005.htm

[20] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=2571815