A herb popular with menopausal women may make cancer more likely to spread, according to a team of US and Canadian researchers. Vicki Davis of Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and colleagues gave mice bred to be prone to developing breast cancer a daily dose of black cohosh equivalent to 40 mg – the amount typically recommended to treat menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes. Results showed that while the mice given black cohosh were no more likely to develop breast cancer, the supplement did appear to encourage the cancer to spread. Examination of the mice revealed that the cancer spread to the lung in 27% of those given black cohosh, compared with just 11% of those not given the herb.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.reutershealth.com on the 14th July 2003.
