Milk thistle examined as treatment

NEW YORK, July 11 (UPI) -- Milk thistle extract -- silymarin -- is being examined as an adjunct to chemotherapy in integrative cancer therapy, say New York researchers.

Milk thistle extract, an herbal remedy in use since the times of the ancient Greeks and Romans, is the focus of the current issue of Integrative Cancer Therapies.

The special issue features research from Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian and Columbia University Medical Center finding liver-protective effects for silymarin in children receiving cancer chemotherapy.

The issue covers the entire scope of milk thistle use in cancer treatment, as well as in fighting other diseases such as hepatitis C, diabetes and HIV.

"This special issue presents both preclinical and clinical studies demonstrating the potential role of milk thistle as an anti-cancer agent," according to guest editors. "No other medications or supplements are currently available that preserve liver function and provide clinical benefits."

The clinical potential for a liver-protective supplement in cancer care is significant, because several chemotherapy drugs, as well as many of the other drugs cancer patients take, have extremely problematic liver toxicities, the editors say.