Phytoestrogen supplementation: a case report of male breast cancer

Herbal therapy use by cancer patients: a literature review on case reports

Complementary and alternative medicine use is common amongst cancer patients. In many surveys, herbal medicines are amongst the most commonly used group of treatments. Herbal remedies are believed by the general public to be safe, cause less side-effects and less likely to cause dependency. The authors performed a literature review to assess which herbal approaches have had associated cancer case reports and determine which of these have been studied in prospective research. Eighteen case reports of patients having apparent antitumour effects from herbal therapy and 21 case reports of toxic effects of herbs used by cancer patients were identified. Clinicaltrials.gov and MEDLINE (via PubMed) were searched for each of the herbal products identified in these reports. Clinical trials in cancer populations were identified for green tea extracts or compounds (n=34), phytoestrogens (n=27), mistletoe (n=8), Ganoderma lucidum (n=1), noni (n=1) and Silymarin (n=1). Daikenchuto, PC-SPES, Nyoshinsan/TJ and Saw palmetto have also been studied prospectively. In conclusion, some of the herbs with promising case report findings have undergone prospective clinical investigations but many others have either not yet been explored or the results have not been reported in English. Unconventional therapies, such as herbs and minerals, used in ancient medical traditions have led to the identification of active anticancer agents. Mechanisms to support prospective research with such approaches are discussed.

Influence of phytoestrogens on the proliferation and expression of adhesion receptors in human mammary epithelial cells in vitro

Tumor metastasis is associated with integrin-mediated adhesion and hyaluronan receptor expression. Accumulating evidence suggests that phytoestrogens, which are naturally occurring, plant-derived phytochemicals, could inhibit tumorigenesis during the development of breast cancer. Less is known, however, about the regulation of adhesion receptors by phytoestrogens and, particularly, their potency to influence proliferation of primary human breast cells in comparison with the steroid hormone 17beta-estradiol. Throughout the proliferation experiments, we used primary human mammary epithelial cells from normal tissue that was derived from plastic surgery. For receptor expression (beta1, alpha2, alpha3, CD44), we used the cell line MCF-7. Both investigations were carried out by flow cytometry. The phenotype of primary human mammary epithelial cells was microscopically characterized by analyzing the distribution of ZO-1, cytokeratin and the estrogen receptors alpha and beta. The integrins and the hyaluronan receptor were significantly up-regulated with 17beta-estradiol in human MCF-7 cells. In contrast, genistein and daidzein did not affect the expression at a concentration of 100 micromol/l. In all proliferation experiments with a significant stimulation of the primary human mammary epithelial cell growth due to 17beta-estradiol, in general, genistein and daidzein did not influence S-phase and G2/M-phase cells. Additionally, the stimulative effect of 17beta-estradiol could be inhibited. As the phytoestrogens do not up-regulate adhesion receptors in human breast cells and, regarding proliferation, are able to abolish the stimulatory effect of 17beta-estradiol, we suggest that phytoestrogens could have beneficial effects for the prevention or inhibition of carcinogenesis in hormone-dependent malignancies.

Breast cancer and long-term hormonal treatment of male hypogonadism

Breast cancer in men is rare and its etiology is multifactorial. Androgens may promote the development of breast carcinoma in men though data on the subject is scarce. We observed 45 men with hypergonadotropic hypogonadism (aged 18-57) who received 250 mg of testosterone esters (Omnadren 250, Jelfa, Poland) every 3-4 weeks for 5-26 years. Seventeen of them were treated for more than 10 years. During the observation period breast cancer was diagnosed in 2 subjects (11% of the followed men). In one case it occurred after 11 years and in the other after 15 years of the therapy. We point to a possible association between long-term androgen replacement and a risk of breast cancer in men.