Black Cohosh for Breast Cancer Beaverton OR
Male
Education
Medical School: Or Hlth Sci Univ Sch Of Med, Portland Or 97201
Graduation Year: 1987
Hospital
Hospital: Providence St Vincent Med Ctr, Portland, Or
Group Practice: General & Vascular Surgery Clinic Pc
Oncology (Cancer), Radiation Oncology
Gender
Male
Education
Medical School: Univ Of Ca, Los Angeles, Ucla Sch Of Med, Los Angeles Ca 90024
Graduation Year: 1971
Oncology (Cancer)
Gender
Male
Education
Graduation Year: 2007
Oncology (Cancer), Radiation Oncology
Gender
Male
Education
Medical School: Univ Of Chicago, Pritzker Sch Of Med, Chicago Il 60637
Graduation Year: 1994
Oncology (Cancer)
Gender
Male
Education
Graduation Year: 2007
Hematology / Oncology, Medical Oncology
F
Education
Medical School: George Washington Univ Sch Of Med & Hlth Sci
Year of Graduation: 1989
Speciality
Oncologist
General Information
Accepting New Patients: Yes
RateMD Rating
5.0, out of 5 based on 6, reviews.
Radiation Oncology
Oncology (Cancer)
Gender
Female
Education
Medical School: Washington Univ Sch Of Med, St Louis Mo 63110
Graduation Year: 1988
Oncology (Cancer)
Gender
Male
Education
Medical School: Columbia Univ Coll Of Physicians And Surgeons, New York Ny 10032
Graduation Year: 1995
Black Cohosh for Breast Cancer
Provided by: 
Since 2003, when evidence that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) might increase risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women, the herb black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) has gained in popularity.
Many women with breast cancer take black cohosh during radiation or chemotherapy because of menopausal symptoms brought on by the treatments—yet few discuss their use of complementary methods with their physicians. Because of this trend, a group of Yale University researchers is investigating whether the herbal medicine alters the cancer cell-killing action of medical treatments.
Their study, done in vitro using breast cancer cells from mice, tested the effects of three brands of black cohosh on five common anti-cancer agents. Their results show the herb had no effect on radiation or the drug 4-HC and that it actually increased the toxicity (effectiveness) of two cancer drugs (doxorubicin and docetaxel) on breast cancer cells. However, black cohosh decreased the effectiveness of the cisplatin drug.
“[In vitro] studies are interesting, but their clinical relevance to human experience is ambiguous at best,” says Mark Blumenthal, executive director of the American Botanical Council in Austin, Texas. The Yale researchers agree that in vivo studies, or studies using live animals instead of petri dishes, are necessary, and they’re continuing work with live mice. In the meantime, they say black cohosh is potentially consequential to the outcome of conventional cancer therapy, and they state that breast cancer patients should be discouraged from taking the herb until its effects are better defined.
This study may be preliminary, but it points out the need to inform your doctor if you are considering or currently using black cohosh during cancer treatment.
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