But are supplements safe when you have cancer?

Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute

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If you're diagnosed with cancer, you should be careful what supplements you're taking.

"Oftentimes, the first thing I do is look through the list of supplements and start to discontinue many of the supplements that they are taking because perhaps there's a drug interaction," says Dr. Dawn Mussallem, a Mayo Clinic internal medicine specialist.

While research on the topic is limited, some studies suggest that ginger can be beneficial.

"Ginger is something we can consider delivering to our patients when they come in with that question: 'What else can I do for my chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting?'" says Dr. Mussallem.

Many patients experience cancer-related fatigue, often a side effect of treatment. American ginseng can help. But there are risks for some patients.

"It is believed that some products of American ginseng may have some estrogenic properties," says Dr. Mussallem. "So women who have hormone receptor-positive breast cancers ... I generally try to avoid long duration of American ginseng in these women."

Bottom line, if you're diagnosed with cancer, check with your health care provider before taking any supplements. They could interfere with your treatment.

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Ginseng Study

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“After eight weeks, we saw a 20-point improvement in fatigue in cancer patients, measured on a 100 point, standardized fatigue scale,” according to researcher Debra Barton, Ph.D., of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. The findings are being presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting.

The post Ginseng Helps Fatigued Cancer Patients – appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

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Researchers studied 340 patients who had completed cancer treatment or were being treated for cancer at one of 40 community medical centers. Each day, participants received a placebo or 2,000 milligrams of ginseng administered in capsules containing pure, ground American ginseng root.

"Off-the-shelf ginseng is sometimes processed using ethanol, which can give it estrogen-like properties that may be harmful to breast cancer patients," says researcher Debra Barton, Ph.D., of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center.

At four weeks, the pure ginseng provided only a slight improvement in fatigue symptoms. However, at eight weeks, ginseng offered cancer patients significant improvement in general exhaustion — feelings of being "pooped," "worn out," "fatigued," "sluggish," "run-down," or "tired" — compared to the placebo group.

"After eight weeks, we saw a 20-point improvement in fatigue in cancer patients, measured on a
100-point, standardized fatigue scale," Dr. Barton says. The herb had no apparent side effects, she says.

Ginseng has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine as a natural energy booster. Until this study, its effects had not been tested extensively against the debilitating fatigue that occurs in up to 90 percent of cancer patients. Fatigue in cancer patients has been linked to an increase in the immune system's inflammatory cytokines as well as poorly regulated levels of the stress-hormone cortisol. Ginseng's active ingredients, called ginsenosides, have been shown in animal studies to reduce cytokines related to inflammation and help regulate cortisol levels.

Dr. Barton's next study will look closely at ginseng's effects on the specific biomarkers for fatigue. "Cancer is a prolonged chronic stress experience and the effects can last 10 years beyond diagnosis and treatment," she says. "If we can help the body be better modulated throughout treatment with the use of ginseng, we may be able to prevent severe long-term fatigue."

The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Other authors include Breanna Linquist, and Charles Loprinzi, M.D.,of Mayo Clinic; Shaker Dakhil, M.D., of Wichita Community Clinical Oncology Program; James Bearden, M.D., and Travis McGinn, of Spartanburg Regional Medical Center; Craig Nichols, M.D., of Virginia Mason Medical Center; Grant Seeger, M.D., of Altru Cancer Center; Ernie Balcueva, M.D., of Saginaw, Mich.

About Mayo Clinic Cancer Center

As one of the leading institutions funded by the National Cancer Institute, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center promotes basic and clinical research on the incidence, causes and progression of cancer and translates discoveries into improved methods for prevention, detection, diagnosis, prognosis and therapy.

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About Mayo Clinic:

Recognizing 150 years of serving humanity in 2014, Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit 150years.mayoclinic.org, www.mayoclinic.org and newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org.

Media Contact: Joe Dangor, 507-284-5005 (days), newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post Ginseng Fights Fatigue in Cancer Patients, Mayo Clinic-Led Study Finds appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

“After eight weeks, we saw a 20-point improvement in fatigue in cancer patients, measured on a 100 point, standardized fatigue scale,” according to researcher Debra Barton, Ph.D., of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. The findings are being presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting.

Soundbites with Dr. Barton and b-roll are available in the downloads above.

Expert title for broadcast cg: Dr. Debra Barton, Mayo Clinic Oncology

Read entire news release: Ginseng_Cancer 

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