DISCLAIMER: I don’t have any medical training. Please take whatever I write here with a big grain of salt. Always consult your doctor before taking any action.
I spent some time reading past discussions about supplements. Resveratrol appears to be a popular supplement. I think it’s mentioned favorably in the AntiCancer book.
I want to share the result of my research on resveratrol. My conclusion was that my wife should not take it. Here’s why.
#1. A quote from Sloat-Kettering page on Resveratrol
http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/herb/resveratrol
Quote:
Several cell culture and animal studies show that resveratrol inhibits proliferation of cancer cells via apoptosis and by exerting anti-estrogenic effects (3) (4) (5) (6). However, contradictory data from other studies showed that it acts as a phytoestrogen and could activate genes that are normally regulated by estrogen (7) or androgen (
.
Therefore cancer patients with hormone-sensitive diseases, such as estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer and prostate cancer should avoid resveratrol as it may stimulate the proliferation of certain tumor cells.
Further down the same page:
Quote:
Contraindications
As resveratrol exhibits estrogen-like properties and activates transcription by estrogen receptor and androgen receptor that leads to stimulation of cancer cell proliferation, patients with hormone-sensitive cancers should avoid resveratrol (7)
#2. I asked myself a question: is CC an estrogen-sensitive cancer? I did some googling and came across this study:
Cholangiocarcinoma: An Estrogen-Dependent Cancer?
http://docsdrive.com/pdfs/medwelljournals/rjmsci/2007/74-79.pdf
I couldn’t read the entire study… it’s well beyond what I can understand. However, their conclusion seems to be fairly straightforward. They suggest that estrogen plays an important role in sustaining CC cell proliferation.
Putting #1 and #2 together, I decided that the prudent thing to do would be to cross Resveratrol off our list of supplements.