Spices 'may stop breast cancer'

For years, healthcare experts have been promoting the medicinal benefits of herbs and spices, but new evidence has suggested that they may actually be able to prevent breast cancer.

According to research conducted at the University of Michigan (UM) in the US, pepper and turmeric can play a key role in helping to halt the progression of breast cancer, which affects over 45,000 women a year in the UK.

Though 80 per cent of those diagnosed now go on to survive the condition, the new findings offer hope that mortality statistics can be reduced further, according to lead author Dr Madhuri Kakarala, a clinical lecturer in internal medicine at the UM Medical School and a research investigator at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.

She led a team which used the dietary compounds curcumin and piperine, which are which is derived from the Indian spice turmeric and black peppers respectively, and applied them to breast cells in culture.

The experts found that they decreased the number of stem cells while having no effect on normal differentiated cells and Dr Kakarala told cancer cover holders that the study may have huge consequences.

"If we can limit the number of stem cells, we can limit the number of cells with potential to form tumours," she explained.

The specialist pointed out that current chemotherapies do not work against cancer stem cells, which is why the disease recurs and spreads, and so researchers believe that eliminating them is key to controlling the conditon.

In addition, she said that decreasing the number of normal stem cells, which are unspecialised cells that can "give rise" to any type of cell in that organ, can decrease the risk of cancer.

Dr Kakarla told cancer insurance customers: "Women at high risk of breast cancer right now can choose to take the drugs tamoxifen or raloxifene for prevention, but most women won't take these drugs because there is too much toxicity. The concept that dietary compounds can help is attractive and curcumin and piperine appear to have very low toxicity."

Posted by James McCann

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