Ancient remedy 'shrinks cancer'
An ancient native American treatment for cancer has been shown to
have a beneficial effect despite scepticism from the medical
establishment.
Chaparral, an evergreen desert shrub, has long been used by native
Americans to treat cancer, colds, wounds, bronchitis, warts, and
ringworm.

But experts dismissed its worth, and warned it could be dangerous.

Now researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina have
shown an extract may shrink some tumours.


Chaparral does not have a good track record, but this finding is
interesting and suggests that the active ingredients should be
investigated further
Henry Scowcroft

Chaparral tea was widely used in the US as an alternative anti-cancer
agent from the late 1950s to the 1970s.
However, the American Cancer Society said there was no proof that it
was an effective treatment for cancer - or any other disease.

And the US Food and Drug Administration warned against its use after
research showed it could damage the liver and the kidneys.

However, initial results from the latest study show that an extract
of the shrub appears not only to be safe, but to have a positive
effect.

The researchers tested a refined extract taken from chaparral called
M4N.

They injected it into the tumours of eight patients with advanced
head and neck cancer that had not responded to other forms of
treatment.

The trial was primarily designed to test whether the extract was
safe. The results were encouraging - patients seemed to tolerate it
well, and there was no evidence of the serious liver damage
previously associated with chaparral use.

However, the study also produced some evidence that the extract had
begun to shrink the tumours.

The researchers now plan a larger study aimed at showing whether the
drug really does work.

Trials important

Henry Scowcroft, science information officer at Cancer Research UK,
said: "Chaparral does not have a good track record as an anti-cancer
treatment, but this finding is interesting and suggests that the
active ingredients of the plant should be investigated further.

"Plants are an extremely useful source of anticancer drugs. For
example the drugs vinblastine and vincristine from the periwinkle
plant are used to treat many different cancers.

"And Taxol, which is obtained from the bark of yew trees, is used to
treat ovarian and breast cancer.

"It is extremely important to test plant extracts thoroughly before
they are routinely used in people, to make sure they have no harmful
side effects.

"This is why clinical trials of the M4N chaparral extract will be so
important."

Head and neck cancer is usually treated with surgery and radiation,
although a few drugs have shown some promise.

But because patients usually do not realise they have cancer until it
has spread, it is very hard to treat.

Results of the study were presented at an International Conference on
Head and Neck Cancer in Washington.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/3555566.stm

Published: 2004/08/11 23:46:41 GMT