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Ginseng helps, cancer patients say

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THE QUESTION: For centuries, people in Asia have taken ginseng in hopes of ensuring a longer, healthier life. Might the herb benefit women who develop breast cancer?

THIS STUDY analyzed data on 1,455 women with breast cancer. Before being diagnosed, 27 per cent of the women regularly took ginseng; after their cancer diagnosis, 63 per cent took the herb. All participants also had at least one mainstream treatment for cancer, such as surgery, chemotherapy or radiation.

During an average of five years, 298 women died from cancer or had their cancer recur. Overall, the risk of recurrence or death was about 30 per cent less among women who had used ginseng before diagnosis than among those who had never taken it.

On a questionnaire completed about four years after diagnosis, women who took ginseng after developing cancer rated their quality of life as better than did the others.

CAVEATS: Information on ginseng use came from the women's recollections. Whether the form in which ginseng was consumed (extract, powder, capsules, etc.) would have influenced its effect is unknown.

The study did not determine the risk of dying for women who used ginseng only after their diagnosis. (Data on post-diagnosis use was unavailable for participants who had died.) Adverse effects were not noted; although ginseng is usually well tolerated, side effects can occur and the herb may interact with prescription drugs.

FIND THIS STUDY: April 1 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology; abstract available online at http://aje.oxfordjournals.org.