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Cancer patients should tell their doctors if they are taking herbal
products because some of the ingredients could stop their treatment
working, a cancer conference has heard.
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Garlic, ginger and ginkgo pills, for example, can delay the healing of
skin wounds when breast cancer spreads.
Surgeon Prof Maria Joao Cardoso, said there was no evidence that herbal
therapies or creams worked.
If in doubt, it was best not to take anything, she said.
"Doctors need to be more proactive about asking their patients what else
they are taking when they are being treated for cancer," Prof Cardoso,
head breast surgeon at the Champalimaud Cancer Centre in Lisbon,
Portugal, told the BBC.
She said it was particularly important that patients always checked with
their doctors first before trying complementary therapies for cancer
that had spread to the skin.
This happens in one in five cases of breast cancer - and less in other
cancers.
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The danger is that many products can interfere with hormone therapy or
chemotherapy treatments, and certain ones prolong the blood clotting
process - which can lead to wounds taking longer to heal and more
scarring.
She highlighted the following herbal products as examples of those which
slow down clotting:
green chiretta
feverfew
garlic
ginkgo
ginseng
hawthorn
horse chestnut
turmeric
'Do no harm'
Prof Cardoso said it was not surprising that patients and their carers
went searching for complementary or alternative treatments that might
make a difference.
But she said people should know "they could end up doing more harm than
good".
"The highest goal in medicine is important to remember: do no harm," she
said.
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On its website, Cancer Research UK says some complementary therapies
might stop conventional treatments working as well as they should.
It also says it is important to avoid some food and drinks such as
grapefruit and oranges during cancer treatment, because they can affect
how well cancer drugs are broken down in the body.
The charity says: "Talk to your doctor about any complementary therapies
you're thinking of using. Tell them before you start having
complementary therapy, especially if you're in the middle of a course of
cancer treatment."
Grete Brauten-Smith, clinical nurse specialist at charity Breast Cancer
Now said: "With a lot of unproven information available online and
little reliable research into these products, a discussion with a
healthcare professional can ensure a patient has the accurate
information they need to make an informed choice."
Speaking at the Advanced Breast Cancer Fifth International Consensus
Conference, Prof Cardoso said therapies like yoga, mindfulness, reiki
and acupuncture could have a positive impact on patients' quality of
life.
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