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Antibiotics and breast cancer

Protection Jumps The Rails

“Antibiotics have been used as freely as vitamins for decades. I’ve known they were anything BUT the harmless substances they were made out to be, but I never dreamed of this.”

That comment comes from HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., in reaction to the astonishing new study released this week that found an association between antibiotic use and breast cancer.

Given that breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer, and given that antibiotics have long been prescribed and over-prescribed for numerous conditions – from rosacea to respiratory infections – it may shock you to learn that scientists first suggested there might be an antibiotic/breast cancer link more than 25 years ago.

You can’t help but wonder: If women had been using natural forms of antibiotics all these years, would the incidence of breast cancer have been quite a bit lower?

Washington women

Four years ago, a small study in Finland found an association between antibiotic use and breast cancer. Intending to further explore this possible link, researchers from the University of Washington (Seattle) examined data collected on more than 10,000 women enrolled in a large health plan in Washington State.

Two groups were studied. One group consisted of 2,266 cases of women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Almost 8,000 subjects made up the second group of randomly selected women with no breast cancer. Researchers used the health plan database to determine the number of antibiotic prescriptions for each woman, as well as the total number of days that each of them used antibiotics over an average period of 17 years.

The results were unambiguous. The risk of breast cancer was doubled among women who received 25 or more prescriptions for antibiotics of any variety, when compared to women who took no antibiotics at all. The group of women who received between one and 25 prescriptions increased their risk by one and a half. And a high rate of cumulative days of antibiotic use was associated with a sharply increased risk of death due to breast cancer.

Cause & effect

In their conclusions, the Washington researchers observe that their results don’t indicate that antibiotics cause breast cancer. For instance, they point out that antibiotics inhibit intestinal microflora from metabolizing phytochemicals, which may be necessary to fight cancer growth. Also, the very infections that antibiotics are taken to protect against may impair the immune system or set off inflammation, paving the way for cancer.

So while more research is necessary to fully understand the antibiotic/breast cancer connection, it’s safe to say that something very important is going on here. Most importantly, it’s clearly time for doctors everywhere to rethink antibiotic usage. For many years, antibiotics have been over-prescribed – often for health problems (such as the common cold) that antibiotics have no effect on at all.

In the Washington study, 18 percent of the women had taken no antibiotics over the 17-year study period. With the way antibiotics are prescribed these days, it’s amazing that ANY of them avoided antibiotic use over nearly 20 years.

Four more ways to go

Contrary to what most mainstream doctors will tell you, there are effective alternatives to pharmaceutical antibiotics. In the e-Alert “Be Afraid Be Very Afraid – Part II” (10/17/02), Dr. Spreen told us about the following four natural anti-bacterial (and anti-viral) agents that have not been adequately studied, but all have many years of anecdotal evidence behind them.

  • Vitamin C: Robert Cathcart, M.D. – probably the most experienced therapist currently using very high doses of ascorbic acid – has been treating with the nutrient for decades to get AIDS patients back on their feet. In a published report he describes the use of oral vitamin C in bacterial infections with doses as high as 200 grams or higher. He includes over 30 references of others who have used very high doses in disease treatment.
  • Grapefruit Seed Extract: “Citricidal,” a natural antibiotic made from an extract of grapefruit seed, was developed from the observation that something in grapefruit (though not in other citrus fruits) keeps bacteria at bay for extended periods of time. Bio/chem Research in California has done extensive research on the antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, and antiparasitic properties of this amazing substance.
  • Olive Leaf Extract: This flavonoid and antioxidant has been tested as an antimicrobial agent, with sufficient power to achieve a published status in peer-review journals.
  • Colloidal Silver: By far the most controversial agent in the armamentarium of ‘natural’ antibacterial agents. Jonathan V. Wright, M.D.’s research has found that bacteria have an enzyme system that is disrupted by the presence of silver ions, causing the organism to die. In fact, it was commonly used as about the only hope against severe infections prior to the advent of antibiotics in the 1940’s. Dr. Wright suggests adult doses of “One tablespoon of colloidal silver at a 40 ppm (parts per million) concentration at the first signs of any infection and 1-2 teaspoons three to four times daily until the infection is gone. Then stop!”

Added protection

For anyone who might try olive leaf extract (OLE), Dr. Spreen offers this suggestion: “I’d add some acidophilus culture (also called probiotics) to the mix, during and for a few days after the use of OLE. The situation here is that OLE is such a good antibacterial that it can also kill the ‘good guy’ bacteria that we need in our gastrointestinal (GI) tracts.”

When I asked Dr. Spreen if he would also recommend the acidophilus supplements to protect intestinal microflora in someone taking pharmaceutical antibiotics, he answered, “Most definitely – without exception! I go with 1/4 tsp (or capsule-equivalent) before meals and bedtime, to be used during the antibiotic therapy and also for one full week after stopping the antibiotic.”

And Dr. Spreen added these tips for choosing a good acidophilus supplement: “For therapeutic use, acidophilus products should be measured in billions of CFU (colony-forming units). Some products try to get away with less. Also, some people (not many) have trouble with dairy forms, so a carrot-based type is readily available. Though I see dairy allergies all the time, the acidophilus itself is often not involved. However, reactions do occur from time to time.”

Beware the heavy hand

Bottom line: Everyone – both women and men – should press their doctor for details whenever an antibiotic is prescribed. There are times when antibiotics can save lives, but when they’re casually and repeatedly used as insurance against possible infection, they may be promoting much greater harm than good.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute

Sources:
“Antibiotic Use in Relation to the Risk of Breast Cancer” Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 291, Pgs. 827-835, 2004, ama-assn.org
“Study Links Breast Cancer to Antibiotics Use” Rob Stein, Washington Post, 2/16/04, washingtonpost.com
“Long-Term Use of Antibiotics Possibly Linked with Increased Risk of Breast Cancer” EurekAlert, 2/16/04, eurekalert.org

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