Red flags on alternative therapy websites. (Health Scout News) March 21, 2003 -- Researchers from the University of California in San Diego reviewed web sites with information about three complementary/alternative treatments for cancer. The sites included information about floressence (Essiac), the herbal product amalaki, and selenium.

They were looking for four red flags that they identified as indicators that the site's scientific accuracy was questionable.

The treatments are for sale online.
The site includes patient testimonials.
The treatment is promoted as a cancer cure.
The treatment claims to have no side effects.

They found that more than 90% of the sites with information about floressence and amalaki raised at least one red flag. Only 23% of the the selenium sites did so, and even those with red flags offered at least some accurate information about selenium and cancer treatment.

Information on the floressence and amalki sites was vague, inaccurate, and anecdotal according to the researchers.

Read the news report on Yahoo! News.

Research into aspirin and other COX inhibitors and their role in the prevention of cancer --


Aspirin, and Cousins, Take a New Role in the War on Cancer

Aspirin reduces colon cancer risk in colon cancer survivors and those with a history of colon polyps. WASHINGTON (The Washington Post) March 6, 2003 -- Two new studies show that a daily aspirin reduce the number of new adenomatous polyps.

Robert S. Sandler of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and colleagues gave half of 517 colon cancer survivors 325 milligrams of aspirin a day, a standard dose, and the other half received a placebo.

After a year, seventeen percent of the aspirin-takers had developed one or more polyps, while 27% of those receiving a placebo had polyps.

The study was halted when researchers realized the clear benefit of a daily aspirin so that the placebo arm of the study could be offered aspirin.

In another study, Baron and his colleagues gave 1/3 of a group of 1,121 patients with a history of adenomas a low dose (81 milligrams) of aspirin, a second third the standard 325 doses, and a final third placebos. Those receiving low-dose aspirin were significantly less likely to develop new polyps, although there was no similar benefit for the standard aspirin dose.

Read the article in the Washington Post.