Remifemin cuts cancer risk
The incidence of breast cancer among users of the black cohosh menopause product Remifemin was found to be 60 per cent less than among other subjects, a study published in the International Journal of Cancer reported.1
Remifemin has been used to relieve the symptoms of menopause since 1956 and has been found to be so effective that it has been described as a first-treatment option.2 A body of evidence also suggests that black cohosh is of benefit to both reduce the risk of breast cancer and to assist in breast cancer treatment.
Two studies published during 2007 found that black cohosh extracts (different extracts were used in each study) acted against breast cancer.
The authors of the study in the International Journal of Cancer reported that interviews were conducted with 949 women who had breast cancer and 1,524 women who did not have breast cancer from the Philadelphia area regarding their use of plant-based remedies for the symptoms of menopause.
Among the individual supplements that were analysed, only Remifemin was associated significantly with a decreased incidence of breast cancer.
The result of the published study was consistent with a recently-published pharmacoepidemioligical observational retrospective cohort study that examined recurrence-free survival after breast cancer and intake of black cohosh.3
The second 2007 study was published in the journal Phytomedicine.
It reported that scientists from the French company Naturex, who worked in co-operation with Columbia University, had found that a black cohosh extract had potential anti-cancer benefits that appeared to involve the triterpene glycoside content.4
The published paper reported that a dose of 3.2 micrograms per millilitre inhibited cancer cell growth by 50 per cent.
A study published in the European Menopause Journal reported that Remifemin had been found to enhance the inhibitory effect of the chemotherapy drug Tamoxifen.5
The authors of the study wrote: “In vitro experiments with human mammary carcinoma cells showed that iCR (the black cohosh extract in Remifemin) to be free of oestrogen agonistic effects; it moreover antagonised estradiol effects and augmented Tamoxifen-induced proliferation inhibition.
“Our results obtained in an established mammary tumour animal model suggest that iCR, apart from possessing no tumour promoting activity, even acts synergistically on Tamoxifen’s anti-neoplastic effect.”
