Report: Herbal treatment for prostate cancer shows great promise
Regional, Health, 5/17/2000

The Wall Street Journal reported today that an old Chinese herbal remedy shows great promise in fighting prostate cancer and that some clinical trials suggest it could prolong the lives of men with advanced prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is a major killer in men and is equivelant in status to breast cancer in women in being the number one concern as men and women age.

The Wall Street Journal reported assistant professor of urology at Columbia University Aaron E. Katz as saying about a herbal treatment for prostate cancer "This herbal compound can clearly cause prostate cancer cells to die."

The Wall Street Journal report said a study conducted among 33 patients found that after two months of treatment, 87% of the patientds experienced a drop in their levels of their PSA test which is used as an indication of the level of activity of cancer cells in the body. The lower the PSA number the better it is for the patient, and used as a strong indicator of wether a patient is progressing in his fight against cancer or is regressing.

The report said that another clinical trial at the University of California at San Francisco produced drops of more than 50% in PSA levels of patients.

The Wall Street Journal report said the chinese herbal concoction ( PC-SPES's) is not known to many urologists and is reported to have side effects, adding that "the most startling aspect of PC-SPES, in the view of Dr. Small, is its effectiveness in 'hormone-resistant' patients -- men whose conventional hormone treatment has failed and who have few options other than chemotherapy. About 60% of such men in Dr. Small's study had what he calls 'a good effect' -- meaning a decline of the PSA level of 50% or more. Some patients across the country tell of a PSA decline from a level of more than 100 to less than 1, normally a clear indication that a tumor has shrunk."

The Wall Street Journal report quotes researchers saying that "the treatment shrinks tumors, even those that 'metastasized' and other tumors that have spread to the bones like those of the spine, pelvis and ribs have receded' and some experiencing a significant reduction in pain 'among men with metastatic cancer that had resisted conventional therapy.'"

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