The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

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    Looking back to see if black cohosh might prevent breast cancer

    Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia reviewed the records of about 2500 women — some with and others without breast cancer.

    The objective was to determine if any hormone-related supplements they had taken in the past might be associated with a lower risk of breast cancer.

    They found that black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) was associated with a significant protective effect for breast cancer. This association was similar among women who used black cohosh or Remifemin (an herbal preparation derived from black cohosh).

    The bottom line?
    First of all, take a moment before running out too buy black cohosh.

    This study looked at the historical use of supplements. As such it is interesting but the results should be confirmed by doing a study that looks at the effects of black cohosh going forward in real time. There are just too many confounding variable in this type of study to come to any definitive conclusions.

    The researchers state, “Additional confirmatory studies are required to determine whether black cohosh could be used to prevent breast cancer.”

    In addition, the safety record of black cohosh is not good, as summarized here, here, here, and here. And there is the issue of poor quality control in the manufacturing process of black cohosh products that results in product-to-product variability and adulteration.

    4/28/07 11:23 JR

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