Evaluation of the safety profiles of estrogenic Chinese herbal medicines in breast cancer.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

An increasing number of breast cancer patients in Asian countries has been found to consume dietary supplements including phytoestrogen-rich Chinese herbal medicines with an expectation to alleviate the side effects of conventional cancer therapies.

PURPOSE:

The question of whether estrogenic Chinese herbal medicines are beneficial or detrimental to the health of breast cancer patients remains uncertain.

STUDY DESIGN:

The present study aimed at establishing a systematic approach to look at the safety profiles of estrogenic Chinese herbal medicines (CHM).

METHODS:

The effects of estrogenic CHM on the growth of human breast cancer cells as well as the progression of breast tumors in mice have been investigated.

RESULTS:

Our results demonstrated that among 10 selected estrogenic CHM, the aqueous extracts of Cistanche deserticola (CD) and Dioscorea opposita (DO) at 0.4 to 1.6 mg/ml significantly stimulated cell viability in both estrogen receptor (ER)-positive (MDA-MB-361 and MCF-7) and ER-negative (SKBR3 and MDA-MB-231) breast cancer cells. However, results from animal studies showed that no significant difference was found on the size of mouse 4T1 breast tumors in CD- and DO-treated mice when compared with the control group, while the number of proliferative cells were found to be increased in DO-treated group. Besides, CD and DO treatments induced significant immunomodulatory effects on 4T1 tumor-bearing mice by increasing the production of cytokines IL-2 and IFN-γ and modulation of regulatory T-cells. Furthermore, CD and DO treatments did not stimulate, but in fact suppressed human triple-negative MDA-MB-231 breast xenografts growth in immunodeficiency mice.

CONCLUSION:

The considerable concerns on the use of CD and DO in breast cancer patients could be relieved to some extents upon the findings of this pre-clinical study. The potential harmful effects of estrogenic Chinese herbal medicines on breast cancer growth should be verified in both cell-based and tumor-bearing mice models.

• Authors: Grace Gar-Lee Yue, Lok-Sze Wong, Hoi-Wing Leung, Si Gao, Julia Yuen-Shan Tsang, Zhi-Xiu Lin, Gary Man-Kit Tse, Clara Bik-San Lau
• Journal: Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology (Phytomedicine) Vol. 56 Pg. 103-117 (Mar 15 2019) ISSN: 1618-095X [Electronic] Germany
• PMID: 30668331 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic
• Drugs, Chinese Herbal
• Phytoestrogens

Topics

• Animals
• Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic (pharmacology)
• Breast Neoplasms (drug therapy, pathology)
• Cell Line, Tumor
• Cell Proliferation (drug effects)
• Cell Survival (drug effects)
• Cistanche (chemistry)
• Dioscorea (chemistry)
• Drugs, Chinese Herbal (adverse effects, pharmacology)
• Female
• Humans
• Mice, Inbred BALB C
• Mice, SCID
• Phytoestrogens (pharmacology)
• Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays