Turmeric for cancer prevention

Turmeric is the yellow-colored spice found in curry powder. Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, functions as both an anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant, and it may help prevent cancer by interfering with aspects of cellular signaling. 

In laboratory animals, curcumin has been shown to help prevent cancer of the breast, colon, stomach, liver, and lung. Using curry powder to spice up chicken and egg dishes is an easy way to incorporate it into your diet — and it has the added bonus of adding flavor to your meals, without any calories!

Collards and carrots may thwart breast cancer

Eating more veggies could help African American women fight an aggressive form of cancer, study says.

Eating lots of carrots and cruciferous vegetables -- collard greens, cabbage, broccoli -- could reduce breast cancer risk, particularly an aggressive form common among African American women, suggests a large new study.

The researchers looking at data from the ongoing Black Women's Health Study did not find a similar benefit from fruit intake.

Previous studies of the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and breast cancer in white women have led to conflicting results, and no prior research has investigated this link separately among African American women, lead researcher Dr. Deborah A. Boggs, of Boston University, told Reuters Health in an e-mail.

Boggs noted her team's earlier work showing that a so-called "prudent diet" high in vegetables, fruits, whole grains and fish led to a lower risk of estrogen receptor-negative breast cancers among African American women.

The ER-negative form of breast cancer, which is insensitive to the hormone estrogen, is more common in this population than among white women. It is also more difficult to treat and more often fatal than estrogen-sensitive cancers.

Overall, breast cancer is the second leading cancer-killer for both African American and white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Approximately 1 in 8 American women will develop the disease at some point in life, although age, heredity and environmental factors can increase an individual's risk.

Boggs and her colleagues wanted to find out whether fruits and vegetables drove the beneficial effect they saw in women eating the prudent diet and whether specific varieties are particularly protective.

They tracked the diets and health of more than 50,000 African American women from across the U.S. for 12 years. About 1,300 of the women developed new cases of breast cancer during that period, 35 percent of them ER-negative.

Further, they identified certain types of vegetables that appeared to reduce the risk of all types of breast cancer, including broccoli, collard greens, cabbage and carrots.

Women who ate three or more servings a week of carrots, for instance, had a 17 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer than women who ate carrots less than once a month.

In power of vitamin D, hope for a new disease fighter

In a Newark laboratory, researchers watch as mice stricken with multiple sclerosis suddenly walk. They peer into microscopes and see the growth of breast cancer cells dramatically slowed.


They are examining, up close, the power of vitamin D.

"We're believers," said Sylvia Christakos, a longtime vitamin researcher at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School.

Many others are following. A spate of provocative studies shows the potential health benefits of vitamin D on everything from breast, prostate and colon cancer to auto- immune disorders such as Type I diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and multiple sclerosis.

The so-called "sunshine vitamin" may even protect the heart.

Some researchers, citing widespread vitamin D deficiencies among Americans, call current federal guidelines outdated and argue most people need far more of the nutrient than they get from food, multi-vitamins and the sun.

Others say more research is needed before Americans start downing supplements or exposing unprotected skin to height-of-the- day sun, whose ultraviolet rays help create the vitamin.

Few researchers, however, have studied the nutrient more closely than Christakos.

"There is finally more of a recognition of the value of vitamin D to prevent various diseases," she said. "But it's cheap and over-the-counter so you won't turn on the television and see commercials pushing vitamin D."

In a review scheduled for publi cation this week in the online Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, Christakos and her team conclude proper blood levels of vitamin D can protect people from multiple sclerosis. The review said the nutrient may help maintain balance in the immune system.

The team looked at MS in mice, and found those treated early with an active form of vitamin D improved dramatically. The stricken mice, once paralyzed, were able to walk, though Christakos said that does not mean the same will happen for people with MS.

The lab has gone a step further to show how vitamin D may work on a genetic level. Working with researchers from Stanford University, they showed how vitamin D likely inhibits a key inflammatory response involved in MS.

The data on vitamin D is accumulating. For example:

A Canadian study found women with breast cancer were nearly twice as likely to see their cancer spread, and far more likely to die, if deficient in the vitamin.

A 2007 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded improving calcium and vitamin D levels substantially reduces all cancer risk in post-menopausal women.

In last year's New England Journal of Medicine, researcher Michael F. Holick of Boston University School of Medicine cited a study that found elderly French women given 1,200 mg of calcium and 800 international units (IU) of vitamin D daily for three years reduced their risk of hip fracture by 43 percent.

Holick cited another study that found women who took more than 400 IU of vitamin D had a 42 percent reduced risk of developing multiple sclerosis. Another study found that 10,366 Finnish children who were given 2,000 IU of vitamin D per day during their first year of life and were followed for 31 years had their risk of developing Type I diabetes reduced by 80 percent.

Holick said Americans should take at least 1,000 IU of vitamin D daily as well as a multivitamin with another 400 IU. Christakos said vitamin D supplements are especially important for those at risk of immune disorders, such as siblings of people with Type I diabetes or MS.

Government guidelines, however, recommend just 200 IU for those under 50; 400 for those 51-70; and 600 for those over 70.

Jennifer Koentop, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said the government is negotiating with the Institute of Medicine, a national advisory organization, to review the vitamin D guidelines.

Humans once routinely absorbed vitamin D from the sun, but when jobs and society moved in doors exposure to sunlight dropped. Holick estimates half of all Americans are vitamin D defi cient. Deficiency rates among African-Americans may be higher.

Reinhold Veith, a researcher at the University of Toronto, said people can safely put on a bathing suit and expose much of their skin, without sunscreen, for as little as five minutes several times a week to obtain vitamin D.

Most dermatologists disagree, however. The American Academy of Dermatology, on its website, said people who want additional vitamin D should use supplements to prevent skin cancer and damage.

Debate continues over supplements, too. Laura Byham-Gray, associate professor of nutritional sciences at the UMDNJ-School of Health Related Professions, does not recommend higher doses.

"What we consider a vitamin D deficiency is still under debate," she said. She cites the hype that once surrounded vitamin E, which researchers later learned actually increased mortality.

Vitamin D proponents said as much as 10,000 IU daily will not cause toxicity.

"Policy makers want a high level of evidence before committing themselves," Veith said. "But all the accumulating evidence on vita min D has been like a slow rising sun. When do you call it daytime?"

Fish oil supplements may decrease breast cancer risk

Research backs anti-inflammatory effects, but cause-and-effect unclear


(Reuters)— Women who take fish oil supplements may have a lower risk of developing breast cancer than those who don't, a study published Thursday suggests — though whether the supplement itself bestows the benefit is not yet clear.



In a study of more than 35,000 postmenopausal women, researchers found that those who said they regularly used fish oil supplements were one-third less likely than non-users to develop breast cancer over the next six years.

The lower risk was seen even with a number of known and suspected risk factors for breast cancer taken into account — including older age, obesity, heavy drinking and sedentary lifestyle.

Still, the study is limited in the fact that it is what is known as an "observational" study — where researchers look at the relationship between an "exposure" (like supplement use) and a disease risk.

"There are a lot of cautions with this type of study," said senior researcher Dr. Emily White, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. "It cannot show cause-and-effect."

So it is too soon to recommend that postmenopausal women start taking fish oil for the sake of lowering breast cancer risk, White told Reuters Health in an interview.

Further study warranted
Any such recommendations may come if and when evidence from clinical trials supports a benefit of fish oil. "Fortunately, there is going to be a clinical trial," White said.


She was referring to a Harvard University trial just underway that will look at whether fish oil and vitamin supplements affect the risks of cancer, heart disease and stroke in older men and women.

In that study, which aims to enroll 20,000 U.S. adults, researchers will randomly assign participants to take one or both supplements, or placebo pills, to serve as a comparison. This type of study is considered the "gold standard" for demonstrating cause-and-effect.

Fish oil, a rich source of healthy fatty acids known as omega-3, is best known as a potential boon for heart health. A number of clinical trials have shown that fish oil may help lower triglycerides (a type of blood fat), high blood pressure and the risk of heart attack in people with established heart disease; high fish consumption has also been linked to a lower risk of developing heart disease.

So experts generally recommend that adults aim to eat fish at least twice a week — preferably fattier fish like salmon, mackerel and trout.

But whether fish or fish oil have any effects on cancer risk remains unclear.

The new study, published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, looked at the question by asking 35,016 women ages 50 to 76 about their current and past use of fish oil and certain other supplements.

The researchers then followed the women for an average of six years to document any diagnoses of breast cancer. During that time, 880 women were diagnosed with the disease.

Among women who developed breast cancer, 5 percent had reported regularly using fish oil at the study's outset. Among women who remained cancer-free, 8 percent had been current fish oil users at the outset.

Anti-inflammatory effects

Overall, fish oil use at the start of the study was related to a one-third lower risk of developing breast cancer compared with non-use — with factors like age, weight, self-reported diet and exercise habits, and family history of breast cancer taken into account.

It is biologically plausible that fish oil could affect breast cancer development, according to White. Fish oil is known to have anti-inflammatory effects, and chronic inflammation in the body is thought to play a role in the growth and spread of cancer cells, White explained.

The pieces of evidence are there, she said, but they have not yet come together into a strong enough whole to recommend fish oil for trimming breast cancer risk.

Dr. Edward Giovannucci, of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, agreed.

"It is very rare that a single study should be used to make a broad recommendation," Giovannucci, a member of the journal's editorial board, noted in a written statement. "Over a period of time, as the studies confirm each other, we can start to make recommendations."

And while fish oil is generally considered safe when taken as directed, it can have side effects, such as stomach upset, heartburn and, at least at higher doses, bleeding.

White's team also found that among a subgroup of women with a history of heart disease, fish oil use was actually related to an increased breast cancer risk versus non-use.

The finding, White said, is surprising and not readily explained. She added, though, that it was based on only a small number of women, and may represent a chance finding rather than a true effect of fish oil.

The current findings cannot hint at whether a fish-rich diet might help lower breast cancer risk. But, White and her colleagues note, two previous large studies did look at the relationship between women's reported omega-3 intake from food and their risk of breast cancer. Neither study uncovered any link.

Collards and carrots may thwart breast cancer

Eating more veggies could help African American women fight an aggressive form of cancer, study says

Eating lots of carrots and cruciferous vegetables -- collard greens, cabbage, broccoli -- could reduce breast cancer risk, particularly an aggressive form common among African American women, suggests a large new study.

The researchers looking at data from the ongoing Black Women's Health Study did not find a similar benefit from fruit intake.

Previous studies of the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and breast cancer in white women have led to conflicting results, and no prior research has investigated this link separately among African American women, lead researcher Dr. Deborah A. Boggs, of Boston University, told Reuters Health in an e-mail.

Boggs noted her team's earlier work showing that a so-called "prudent diet" high in vegetables, fruits, whole grains and fish led to a lower risk of estrogen receptor-negative breast cancers among African American women.

The ER-negative form of breast cancer, which is insensitive to the hormone estrogen, is more common in this population than among white women. It is also more difficult to treat and more often fatal than estrogen-sensitive cancers.

Overall, breast cancer is the second leading cancer-killer for both African American and white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Approximately 1 in 8 American women will develop the disease at some point in life, although age, heredity and environmental factors can increase an individual's risk.

Boggs and her colleagues wanted to find out whether fruits and vegetables drove the beneficial effect they saw in women eating the prudent diet and whether specific varieties are particularly protective.

They tracked the diets and health of more than 50,000 African American women from across the U.S. for 12 years. About 1,300 of the women developed new cases of breast cancer during that period, 35 percent of them ER-negative.

Further, they identified certain types of vegetables that appeared to reduce the risk of all types of breast cancer, including broccoli, collard greens, cabbage and carrots.

Women who ate three or more servings a week of carrots, for instance, had a 17 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer than women who ate carrots less than once a month.

Watercress

Watercress contains significant amounts of iron, calcium and folic acid, in addition to vitamins A and C.

Many benefits from eating watercress are claimed, such as that it acts as a stimulant, a source of phytochemicals and antioxidants, a diuretic, an expectorant, and a digestive aid. It also appears to have antiangiogenic cancer-suppressing properties; it is widely believed to help defend against lung cancer.

A 2010 study conducted by the University of Southampton found that consumption of watercress may also inhibit the growth of breast cancer. The PEITC content of watercress inhibits HIF, which can inhibit angiogenesis.
Due to its high iodine content, watercress has a strengthening effect on the thyroid gland, thus it is beneficial for sufferers of hypothyroidism.

Recipe : Watercress with Egg & Goat Cheese

Watercress nutrition value
Watercress contains fifteen essential vitamins and minerals. Watercress contains significant amounts of iron, calcium, folic acid and vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B17, C, D, E and K. Watercress can act as a mild stimulant and promotes appetite. It is a source of phytochemicals and antioxidants. Watercress is a diuretic, an expectorant and digestive aid. Other therapeutic uses of watercress include relief from coughs, head colds, bronchial ailments, asthma, stress, pain, arthritis, stiff back and joints, diabetes, anemia, constipation and emphysema.

Watercress is one of the best sources of element iodine which is important for the function of the thyroid gland. The leaves of watercress is used as a poultice and applied for relief from enlarged prostrate gland. Sulphur contained in watercress plays an important part in protein absorption, blood purifying, cell building and in healthy hair and skin.

Watercress is known for its antiscorbutic qualities. The leaves bruised or the juice from watercress can free the face of blotches, spots and blemishes when applied as a lotion. A daily portion of watercress in cancer patients has the ability to reduce DNA to a significant level and to increase those cells to resist further DNA damage caused by free radicals. Watercress also has the ability to reduce in blood triglyceride levels by an average of 10%.

Significant increase in blood levels of lutein and beta carotene which have antioxidant activity by 100% and 33% respectively can be seen by regular intake of watercress. These are associated with a lower incidence of eye diseases such as cataract and age related macular degeneration.

Brisk walkers have lower breast cancer risk

An hour day helps and it's never too late to start, new study suggests

NEW YORK — Women who take brisk walks regularly have a lower risk of developing breast cancer after menopause -- and it's never too late to start, new study findings suggest.

Reviewing data collected from nearly 100,000 postmenopausal women, researchers found that women who scheduled at least an hour of brisk walking per day (or an equivalent amount of activity) were 15 percent less likely to get breast cancer than women who walked less than one hour per week.

And those who got little exercise but boosted their activity after menopause were 10 percent less likely to develop the disease than those who stayed inactive.

Overall, five in 100 women got breast cancer over 20 years.

There are many risk factors for breast cancer that women have no control over, such as family history or the age at which they begin menstruating, study author Dr. A. Heather Eliassen told Reuters Health.

Physical activity "is one of the few breast cancer risk factors that women can do something about," she said. "And it's never too late."

There is a growing body of research showing that very active women are less likely to develop breast cancer than their sedentary peers. But less is known about the effect of moderate exercise, and whether less active women who start exercising get similar benefits.

Previous studies about the benefits of exercise on breast cancer risk are also difficult to compare side-by-side, said Dr. Michael Leitzmann of Regensburg University in Germany, who was not involved in the study.

Many are designed differently, for instance, or ask different questions about how much activity women are getting.

However, "the majority of evidence really lies in favor of risk reduction with physical activity," Leitzmann told Reuters Health.

In the new study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Eliassen and her team at Harvard reviewed data collected from 95,396 women who were followed for 20 years. At regular intervals, women reported how active they were, and the types of exercise they chose to do.

The researchers found that regular exercise was associated with a lower risk of breast cancer even after removing the potential influence of drinking and weight.

Eliassen and her team also looked at which activities -- such as swimming, hiking, or jogging -- were associated with the lowest risk, and found that brisk walking appeared to be the most protective against breast cancer. This was also the most common type of exercise, Eliassen explained, which may have skewed the findings.

What's encouraging, she added, is that women didn't need to engage in vigorous workouts to see a benefit -- it's enough to simply walk at a brisk pace, roughly three to four miles per hour, in which it's harder to hold a conversation than when casually strolling.

The study's design did not allow the authors to prove whether walking caused less breast cancer, because there may be other factors common to women who walk more that made them less likely to develop it.

Still, the results are suggestive, they note. However, it remains unclear why exercise would protect against breast cancer, Eliassen said.

Research has shown that activity reduces estrogen in the blood, which can affect breast cancer risk. But in this study, exercise also reduced the risk of breast cancers that aren't influenced by estrogen, suggesting there are other explanations.

"Physical activity also has an effect on chronic inflammation, and insulin sensitivity," Eliassen said. "So there are other ways in which physical activity could be acting" on breast cancer risk.

Evening Primrose Oil (Oenothera biennis)

Evening primrose is a flowering plant also known as oenothera biennis, scabish, king's cureall, night willow herb, sun drop, and fever plant.

Evening primrose has been used in alternative medicine as an aid in treating heart disease, high cholesterol, circulation problems, premenstrual syndrome, endometriosis, breast pain, certain symptoms of menopause, eczema, psoriasis, acne, osteoporosis, and multiple sclerosis. It has also been used in cancer, Alzheimer's disease, asthma, diabetes, hyperactivity, and stomach or intestinal disorders.

Evening Primrose Oil has been called the most sensational preventive discovery since vitamin C. It contains the pain relieving compound phenylalanine and is increasingly being used to treat chronic headaches. It is currently being studied all over the world as a treatment for aging problems, alcoholism, acne, heart disease, hyperactivity in children, symptoms of menopause, multiple sclerosis, weight control, obesity, PMS and schizophrenia. It has so many preventive and therapeutic qualities that it has become a standard part of recommendations of many herbalist for maintaining youth and preventing disease.

Evening Primrose Oil contains a high concentration of a fatty acid called GLA and it is this fatty acid that is largely responsible for the remarkable healing properties of the plant. In fact, Evening Primrose contains one of the highest concentrations known of this important substance and only a few other plants contain it at all. This makes Evening Primrose an important medicinal herb, and as studies continue, the list of benefits will likely become much longer. The gamma-linoleic acid, linoleic acid and other nutrients in this oil are essential for cell structure and improve the elasticity of the skin. These fatty acids also help to regulate hormones and improve nerve function aiding problems ranging from PMS to migraine headaches. The hormone balancing effect contributes to healthy breast tissue.

Specifically, evening primrose oil may help to:

Relieve the discomforts of PMS, menopause, menstruation, endometriosis and fibrocystic breasts:

By interfering with the production of inflammatory prostaglandins released during menstruation, the GLA in evening primrose oil can help to lessen menstrual cramps. It may also minimise premenstrual breast tenderness, irritable bowel flare-ups, and carbohydrate cravings, and help to control endometriosis-associated inflammation. Many PMS sufferers are found to have unusually low levels of GLA in their systems, which is why supplements might help so much. In women with fibrocystic breasts, the oil's essential fatty acids can minimise breast inflammation and promote the absorption of iodine, a mineral that can be present in abnormally low levels in women with this condition. In menopause, it is widely reported that Evening Primrose oil reduces hot flushes and increases feelings of well being.

Ease the joint pain and swelling of rheumatoid arthritis:

Supplementation with evening primrose oil and other sources of GLA has been shown to lessen the joint pain and swelling of this crippling disease. A six-month study reported fewer signs of inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis sufferers taking capsules containing GLA than in those taking a placebo. In another trial, the number of tender joints and swollen joints dropped significantly with GLA but not with a placebo.

Prevent diabetes-associated nerve damage:

Research indicates that the GLA in evening primrose oil can help prevent, and in some cases even reverse, the nerve damage (neuropathy) so commonly seen with diabetes. In a year-long study, such symptoms as numbness, tingling, and loss of sensation in participants with mild diabetic neuropathy were less marked in those who took evening primrose oil than in those who took a placebo.

Reduce the symptoms of eczema:

In some cases, eczema develops when the body has problems converting dietary fats into GLA. Getting supplemental GLA from evening primrose oil may therefore be helpful. Some studies indicate that this oil can outperform a placebo in relieving eczema-related inflammation, as well as the itching, oozing, and flaking associated with this condition. By taking GLA, eczema sufferers may tolerate reduced doses of steroid creams and drugs, many of which cause unpleasant side effects.

Help treat acne and rosacea:

By working to dilute sebum, a thick oily substance that is oversecreted in some people with acne, the essential fatty acids in evening primrose oil may reduce the risk of pores becoming clogged and lesions developing. The oil's EFAs help treat rosacea by reducing inflammation, controlling cells' use of nutrients and by producing prostaglandins, which stimulate the contraction of blood vessels.

Gamma-linolenic acid also shows promise against breast cancer.

FDA panel withdraws support for breast cancer drug

Avastin fails to slow tumor growth compared to chemo alone, experts find

(AP) GAITHERSBURG, Md. — A panel of cancer experts said Tuesday that the government should remove its endorsement of Roche's drug Avastin for breast cancer after follow-up studies failed to show benefits for patients.

A Food and Drug Administration panel of experts voted 12-1 in favor of removing the drug's approval for use against breast cancer alongside chemotherapy.

The FDA is not required to follow the advice of its panel, though it often does.

The negative vote is the first major setback for a blockbuster cancer drug that has racked up approvals for a half dozen forms of the disease. Avastin is also approved for colon, lung, kidney and brain cancer. The panel's ruling only pertains to Avastin's use in breast cancer.

Roche scientists argued Tuesday that patients taking Avastin experienced improved quality of life as tumor growth and other symptoms are delayed — but panelists were not convinced.

"The study shows there's very little benefit to patients — with significant toxicity risks and no clear survival benefit," said Natalie Compagni Portis, the panel's patient representative.

A spokeswoman for Roche's Genentech unit said the company will continue discussions with the agency.

Multivitamins may raise breast cancer risk

Women who take a daily multivitamin pill may face a higher risk of breast cancer, a new study has claimed.

In the 10-year study, which followed more than 35,000 women, boffins found that those who regularly took a multi-vitamin pill increased the risk of developing a tumour by 19 per cent, reports News.com.au.

The study, conducted by Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, has been published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

According to researchers, a ‘biologically plausible’ explanation for the effect could be that taking vitamin and mineral supplements significantly increases the density of breast tissue, a strong risk factor for breast cancer. Folic acid, often present in a potent form in multi-vitamins, may also accelerate tumour growth.

"Results from this prospective study suggest that the use of multivitamins may increase the risk of breast cancer," the lead author of the study, Susanna Larrson, said.

Bone drugs may help prevent breast cancer

Promising study suggests Fosamax and Actonel may protect women

(AP) — New results from a large women's health study suggest that bone-building drugs such as Fosamax and Actonel might help prevent breast cancer.

Women who already were taking these medicines when the study began were nearly one-third less likely to develop breast cancer over the next seven years. That's compared to women who were not on such pills.

The study by itself is not proof that these drugs can prevent cancer. More definitive studies should give a clearer picture in a year or two. Until then, doctors say women should only take these drugs if they have osteoporosis or other bone problems.

However, doctors are excited because it fits with other research last year that found one of these bisphosphonate drugs cut the chances that cancer would come back in women already treated for the disease.

"Now we're actually looking at this in the general population — healthy women who have never had breast cancer. And it looks like it's protective in those women as well," said Dr. Peter Ravdin of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

"There's a strengthening story here," he said. "This is very promising."

In Reversal, Panel Urges Mammograms at 50, Not 40

Most women should start regular breast cancer screening at age 50, not 40, according to new guidelines released Monday by an influential group that provides guidance to doctors, insurance companies and policy makers.

The new recommendations, which do not apply to a small group of women with unusual risk factors for breast cancer, reverse longstanding guidelines and are aimed at reducing harm from overtreatment, the group says. It also says women age 50 to 74 should have mammograms less frequently — every two years, rather than every year. And it said doctors should stop teaching women to examine their breasts on a regular basis.

Just seven years ago, the same group, the United States Preventive Services Task Force, with different members, recommended that women have mammograms every one to two years starting at age 40. It found too little evidence to take a stand on breast self-examinations.

The task force is an independent panel of experts in prevention and primary care appointed by the federal Department of Health and Human Services.

Its new guidelines, which are different from those of some professional and advocacy organizations, are published online in The Annals of Internal Medicine They are likely to touch off yet another round of controversy over the benefits of screening for breast cancer.

Dr. Diana Petitti, vice chairwoman of the task force and a professor of biomedical informatics at Arizona State University, said the guidelines were based on new data and analyses and were aimed at reducing the potential harm from overscreening.

While many women do not think a screening test can be harmful, medical experts say the risks are real. A test can trigger unnecessary further tests, like biopsies, that can create extreme anxiety. And mammograms can find cancers that grow so slowly that they never would be noticed in a woman’s lifetime, resulting in unnecessary treatment.

Over all, the report says, the modest benefit of mammograms — reducing the breast cancer death rate by 15 percent — must be weighed against the harms. And those harms loom larger for women in their 40s, who are 60 percent more likely to experience them than women 50 and older but are less likely to have breast cancer, skewing the risk-benefit equation. The task force concluded that one cancer death is prevented for every 1,904 women age 40 to 49 who are screened for 10 years, compared with one death for every 1,339 women age 50 to 74, and one death for every 377 women age 60 to 69.

The guidelines are not meant for women at increased risk for breast cancer because they have a gene mutation that makes the cancer more likely or because they had extensive chest radiation. The task force said there was not enough information to know whether those women would be helped by more frequent mammograms or by having the test in their 40s. Other experts said women with close relatives with breast cancer were also at high risk.

Dr. Petitti said she knew the new guidelines would be a shock for many women, but, she said, “we have to say what we see based on the science and the data.”

The National Cancer Institute said Monday that it was re-evaluating its guidelines in light of the task force’s report.

But the American Cancer Society and the American College of Radiology both said they were staying with their guidelines advising annual mammograms starting at age 40.

The cancer society, in a statement by Dr. Otis W. Brawley, its chief medical officer, agreed that mammography had risks as well as benefits but, he said, the society’s experts had looked at “virtually all” the task force and additional data and concluded that the benefits of annual mammograms starting at age 40 outweighed the risks.

Other advocacy groups, like the National Breast Cancer Coalition, Breast Cancer Action, and the National Women’s Health Network, welcomed the new guidelines.

“This is our opportunity to look beyond emotions,” said Fran Visco, president of the National Breast Cancer Coalition. The task force “is an independent body of experts that took an objective look at the data,” Ms. Visco said. “These are the people we should be listening to when it comes to public health messages.”

Some women, though, were not pleased. “I know so many people who had breast cancer and survived, and what saved their lives was early detection,” Janet Doughty, 44, of San Clemente, Calif., said in a telephone interview. She said she had had an annual mammogram since her late 30s and would not stop now.

The guidelines are not expected to have an immediate effect on insurance coverage but should make health plans less likely to aggressively prompt women in their 40s to have mammograms and older women to have the test annually.

Congress requires Medicare to pay for annual mammograms. Medicare can change its rules to pay for less frequent tests if federal officials direct it to.

Private insurers are required by law in every state except Utah to pay for mammograms for women in their 40s.

But the new guidelines are expected to alter the grading system for health plans, which are used as a marketing tool. Grades are issued by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, a private nonprofit organization, and one measure is the percentage of patients getting mammograms every one to two years starting at age 40.

That will change, said Margaret E. O’Kane, the group’s president, who said it would start grading plans on the number of women over 50 getting mammograms every two years.

The message for most women, said Dr. Karla Kerlikowske, a professor in the department of medicine, epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco, is to forgo routine mammograms if they are in their 40s.

Starting at age 50, Dr. Kerlikowske said, “the message is to get 10 mammograms in a lifetime, one every two years.” That way they get the most benefit and the least harm from the test. If women are healthy, she added, they might consider having mammograms every two years until age 74.

Nearly two-thirds of all women in their 40s had mammograms within the last two years, as did 72 percent of women age 50 to 65, according to an editorial by Dr. Kerlikowske that accompanies the report.

In order to formulate its guidelines, the task force used new data from mammography studies in England and Sweden and also commissioned six groups to make statistical models to analyze the aggregate data. The models were the only way to answer questions like how much extra benefit do women get if they are screened every year, said Donald A. Berry, a statistician at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and head of one of the modeling groups.

“We said, essentially with one voice, very little,” Dr. Berry said. “So little as to make the harms of additional screening come screaming to the top.”

The harms are nearly cut in half when women have mammograms every other year instead of every year. But the benefits are almost unchanged.

The last time the task force issued guidelines for mammograms, in 2002, the reportwas announced by Tommy G. Thompson, the secretary of health and human services. When the group recommended mammograms for women in their 40s, some charged the report was politically motivated. But Dr. Alfred Berg of the University of Washington, who was the task force chairman at the time, said “there was absolutely zero political influence on what the task force did.”

It was still a tough call to make, Dr. Berg said, adding that “we pointed out that the benefit will be quite small.” In fact, he added, even though mammograms are of greater benefit to older women, they still prevent only a small fraction of breast cancer deaths.

Different women will weigh the harms and benefits differently, Dr. Berg noted, but added that even for women 50 and older, “it would be perfectly rational for a woman to decide she didn’t want to do it.”

Researchers worry the new report will be interpreted as a political effort by the Obama administration to save money on health care costs.

Of course, Dr. Berry noted, if the new guidelines are followed, billions of dollars will be saved.

“But the money was buying something of net negative value,” he said. “This decision is a no-brainer. The economy benefits, but women are the major beneficiaries.”

Black Cohosh Herb Halts Growth of Breast Cancer Tumors

Extract of black cohosh may halt the growth of breast cancer cells, according to a new study conducted by the French company Naturex and published in the journal "Phytomedicine." The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Cimicifugae racemosae rhizome, also known as black cohosh, is a plant in the buttercup family that is native to eastern North America, ranging from central Georgia in the south to southern Ontario in the north, and as far west as Missouri. It is also known as black bugbane, black snakeroot and fairy candle.

Black cohosh has a history of use as a traditional medicine for gynecological problems, kidney problems and sore throat, and is commonly used to help relieve the symptoms of menopause.

In the current study, researchers applied extracts of black cohosh to breast cancer cells in a laboratory setting. Growth of cancer cells was inhibited in cell lines that had the extract added, apparently due to an increase in programmed cell death (apoptosis).

The researchers linked the cancer-inhibiting effects of black cohosh extract to its content of triterpene glycosides.