Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture for Breast Cancer Palliative Care and Adjuvant Therapy

Abstract

Breast cancer is a life-threatening disease among women worldwide with annual rates of reported incidence and death increasing alarmingly. Chemotherapy is a recommended and effective treatment option for breast cancer; however, the narrow therapeutic indices and varied side effects of currently approved drugs present major hurdles in increasing its effectiveness. An increasing number of literature evidence indicate that complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) used in treatment-related symptom control and alleviation of side effects plays an important role in increasing survival rate and quality of life in breast cancer patients. This review focuses on the use of herbal medicines and acupuncture in palliative care and as adjuvants in the treatment of breast cancer. Herbal medicinal treatments, the correlation of clinical use with demonstrated in vitro and in vivo mechanisms of action, and the use of certain acupoints in acupuncture are summarized. The aim of this review is to facilitate an understanding of the current practice and usefulness of herbal medicine and acupuncture as adjuvants in breast cancer therapy.

Cytotoxic Effect of Emodin on Growth of SKBR3 Breast Cancer Cells

“…Many side effects have been observed in common therapies such as chemotherapy, and radiotherapy which are the reasons for more interest toward research in the field of herbal medicine (12)(13)(14).…”

To What Extend Aromatherapy with Peppermint Oil Effects on Chemotherapy Induced Nausea and Vomiting in Patient Diagnosed with Breast Cancer? A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…These interventions are called complementary or alternative medicine [8]. Even though using complementary or alternative medicine by patients diagnosed with cancer is not an alleviating option in medical clinics in some countries according to World Health Organization (WHO) but about 80% of such patients use complementary medicine [5]. The patients diagnosed with BC are reported to use complementary medicine the most with an average of 76%-83% [9].…”

“…The treatment strategies are determined based on tumor level, hormone receptors' condition, the possibility of metastasis and the patient's condition. One of the main treatment options for BC is chemotherapy which is already used pervasively [5]. The treatments side effects can have detrimental effects on the patients.…”

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“…Acupuncture has also been indicated as an important nonpharmacological resource in a number of circumstances, such as reducing the side effects of breast cancer therapy [8], associated with a diet, in the treatment of obesity [9], improving the quality of Life of the individual with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) [10].…”