Ginseng Study Suggests Improved Breast Cancer Survival Rate
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Regular ginseng users who were diagnosed with breast cancer were 30% more likely to survive the illness than women who never used the herb, according to a study slated for April 1 publication in the American Journal of Epidemiology
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Regular ginseng users who were diagnosed with breast cancer were 30% more likely to survive the illness than women who never used the herb, according to a study slated for April 1 publication in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Additionally, women who began using ginseng following breast cancer diagnosis had higher quality of life (QOL) scores, "with the strong effect in the psychological and social well-being domains," Xiao-Ou Shu, MD, PhD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, et al., state. The study is the first of its kind to examine ginseng use and its effect on the quality of life in cancer patients, according to the authors. The study included 1,455 breast cancer patients who were participants in the Shanghai Breast Cancer Study in Shanghai, China and were recruited between August 1996 and March 1998. Patient follow up lasted through December 2002. Shu et al. gathered information on ginseng use before diagnosis at baseline. Subsequent use of the herb after cancer diagnosis was tracked during the follow-up survey. At baseline, approximately 27% of the subjects regularly used ginseng before diagnosis. Of the 1,065 survivors interviewed in follow-up, 62.8% of women began using ginseng after diagnosis and 30.6% were current users at the time of the interview. The average daily dose of ginseng was 1.3 g of root material. In addition to any ginseng, all study participants received at least one form of mainstream breast cancer treatment such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, according to the study authors. The authors used the Kaplan-Meier actuarial technique and Cox regression models to evaluate the relationship between ginseng use and disease-free survival. QOL and ginseng use were examined through the use of multiple linear regression models. "Compared with patients who never used ginseng, regular users had a significantly reduced risk of death," Shu et al. report. Regular use of ginseng was associated with a 0.71 hazard ratio for total mortality and a 0.70 hazard ratio for breast cancer mortality or relapse. Ginseng use after diagnosis was positively correlated with overall QOL scores, particularly in the psychological and social well-being areas, the authors maintain. Current users were less likely to suffer from depression or other negative feelings and were more likely to have adequate social support. Researchers also observed a "significant dose-response relation" for current use of ginseng. "Further stratification and analysis showed that the beneficial effect of ginseng on QOL seemed to come primarily from current use rather than ever use of ginseng," Shu et al. note. The researchers say several strengths of the study include a "large population-based sample, an excellent participation rate and inclusion of both survival and QOL as study outcomes." One limitation is that researchers could not "examine the effect of ginseng use post-diagnosis on breast cancer survival" due to a "lack of information on ginseng use after diagnosis for patients who died before a follow-up interview," the researchers state. Shu et al. also could not determine the effect use of different ginseng delivery forms could have on survival rates because of lack of relevant information. "Thus, caution is required in interpreting the results, and our findings need to be confirmed in more rigorous and randomized clinical trials," the authors say. - Jessica Lake |