The Interactions of Red Clover with Tamoxifen

Discussion:

It can be concluded from our experimentation that red clover interacts negatively with Tx. Tx is a competitive inhibiting drug that competes with estrogens to bind to the ER in a cell, thus deactivating the estrogenic signaling capability of the breast cancer cell. It appears that the estrogenic activity of red clover diminishes the ability of Tamoxifen to bind to the ER. This means that the cytostatic/toxic effect of Tamoxifen is reduced, and the cells are capable of proliferating.

The implications of these findings are that red clover, a CAM, has the ability to decrease the power of one of the most commonly used treatments against breast cancer. This is an astounding fact, as the media and many medical doctors have often dismissed the potency and capabilities of natural alternatives. Our evidence suggests that the estrogenic activity and potency of red clover is tangible. It must be recognized by health care professionals that natural remedies and CAMs have the ability to have an actual affect upon a patient, be this positive or negative.

 CAMs, as their name implies, typically complement conventional treatments. However, certain CAMs have the potential to interact detrimentally with conventional medicinal treatments, and both doctors and their patients need to be aware of this. There should be more communication between physicians, pharmacists (Tx is often distributed at the pharmacy) and patients concerning what medical aids or nutritional supplements the patient is ingesting. Oftentimes patients do not alert their physicians as to what CAMs they are taking, as CAMs aren’t thought of as “real medications” or drugs. In this era of polypharmacy the potential interactions between different drugs needs to be acknowledged, and further explored. The growing use and prevalence of herbal therapies and CAMs necessitates study of the safety of these alternative modalities. Government regulation of natural products in conjunction with proper labeling would be an appropriate response to our preliminary evidence. As a measure to ensure awareness, potent CAMs should be developed as prescription medications. This applies especially in terms of when the CAMs have negative interactions when used in correlation with conventional methods.

The general public needs to be attentive to what they are ingesting. Recently we have seen the rise of soy products to international popularity.  Soy is a comestible that belongs to the same legume family as red clover, and has similar estrogenic properties as that of red clover. The public should also realize that natural medicine and conventional treatment are not two separate entities but rather, that these two spheres overlap. Education is a key aspect to addressing this problem and avoiding potential medical miscommunications or avoiding incidental use of CAMs that would have a potential negative interaction with beneficial drug therapies. Currently there is not a complete database or resourse documenting drug-CAM interactions. This makes education and awareness difficult. Patients need to understand how their medications work, and how they may not be as effective if used in correlation with other medications. Patients need to have access to simple and comprehensive information concerning their medications.

The 1 in 8.9 Canadian women predestined to have breast cancer need to openly communicate with their oncologists. To increase the efficiency of such drugs as Tamoxifen, the human body needs to be an environment that is conducive to negative cancer cell proliferation. With this in mind, the physician should clearly be aware if the patient is taking a natural supplement that is also a phytoestrogen in the case of breast cancer. The results seen in our experimental process would indeed be devastating for a woman that has breast cancer. To avoid a similar outcome, communication, education, and awareness need to be put in place by the Canadian government.