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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> In another promising early study, researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that the herb ginseng may help alleviate fatigue in cancer patients.
Close to 300 patients were randomized to receive 750 milligrams, 1,000 milligrams or 2,000 milligrams of ginseng a day or a placebo. Participants had different types of cancer and were either in treatment or had completed treatment and had a life expectancy of at least six months. All had a history of fatigue. The herb used in the study was Wisconsin ginseng.
About a quarter of patients in the 1,000-milligram and 2,000-milligram groups reported "moderately better" or "much better" fatigue levels compared with just 10 percent in both the 750-milligram and placebo groups, the researchers found.
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"We believe that Wisconsin ginseng deserves to be studied in a larger trial, and we are planning to do so in our research group," said researcher Debra L. Barton, an associate professor of oncology at Mayo Clinic.
On a more negative note, shark cartilage appeared to have no benefit on advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
Lung cancer, the leading cancer killer in both men and women, is notoriously difficult to treat.
This trial, the first of its kind, looked at an actual drug in development, AE-941 (Neovastat), not an over-the-counter supplement. The drug was developed by Aeterna Zentaris, which funded the trial in concert with the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI).
Cartilage does not have blood vessels, indicating that it may have properties that impede a tumor's blood supply. The public has also long believed that shark cartilage may have healing properties, because sharks have a low incidence of cancer.
For this Phase III study, initiated at the request of the NCI, almost 400 newly diagnosed lung cancer patients underwent chemotherapy and chemo-radiation and were then randomized to receive either shark cartilage or a placebo, both in the form of a liquid taken twice daily.
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