Herbal medicine for the treatment of breast cancer

Introduction & Aim: Breast cancer is a life-threatening disease and the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide. Chemotherapy is considered as a recommended and effective treatment option for breast cancer; however, its narrow therapeutic indices as well as severe side effects present major hurdles to increase itseffectiveness. For centuries, herbs and plants have been used for medicinal purposes. An increasing number of literature evidence indicate that herbal medicine plays animportant role in increasing survival rate and quality of life in breast cancer patients, leading to symptom control and alleviation of side effects. Methods: A n electronic search for previously-published articles was conducted in PubMed, Springer, Elsevier, Sid, Science Direct, etc, to find relevant published studies using the following specific medical subject heading (MeSH) terms: breast cancer AND/OR breast neoplasms, herbal or traditional medicine AND/OR herbs. This review concerns about different types of plants that retain the immune stimulating and antitumor properties. Results: A large variety of active phytochemicals such as carotenoids, flavonoids, ligands, polyphenolics, terpenoids, sulfides, lignans and plant sterols has been identified in different types of herbs. These phytochemicals have different mechanisms of action. Herbal medicines often used to treat the symptoms associated with cancer and the side effects of cancer treatment include Echinacea, Garlic, Turmeric, Burdock, Carotenoids, Green tea, Ginseng, Black cohosh, and Flax seed. Conclusion: The use of medicinal plant products to manage or arrest the carcinogenic process provides an alternative to the use of conventional allopathic medicine for treatment of the disease.

کلیدواژه ها:

herbal medicine ، breast cancer ، herbs