According to recent research HCG (the pregnancy hormone and popular homeopathic dietary supplement ingredient) could be an effective breast cancer preventive. 

HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) was shown to activate tumor suppressor genes and stop cancer cell growth in animal studies. The substance displayed definite anticancer effects on the subjects of the study. The chief of molecular endocrinology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, Irma H. Russo, MD, suggested definitely that the eventual goal for HCG is to use it as a breast cancer preventive. It will eventually be on the level with the currently in use Tamoxifen but with the added benefit of being a normal product of the body with no toxic effects. In comparison, the currently accepted Tamoxifen, while an effective breast cancer preventive, also has known associations with endometrial cancer and blood clots.

In a study presented by Russo and her colleagues at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research links between cancer and pregnancy were the basis for the studies that tested the ability of the HCG to recreate the preventative effects of pregnancy on the human body’s probability to develop breast cancer. Previous studies indicate that women who become pregnant by the age of 20 experience a 50% reduction in their risk of breast cancer.  Russo’s study was an attempt to recreate the protection offered by pregnancy through the use of hormones.

The researchers conducting the study gave pubescent rats cancer causing drugs to create breast tumors. Once this process was completed, the same rats were given one of two treatments for a full two weeks: 1. HCG supplements or 2. Estrogen and Progestin Hormones. The rats that had undergone cancer induction and treatment were then compared to control rats.

The studies indicated that the animals that took homeopathic HCG experienced a reduction in the number of cells dividing. They also experienced an increase in the production of tumor-suppressor genes. The HCG also resulted in a decrease in the amount of cells that carried estrogen receptors. Estrogen receptors help most breast cancer cells grow. In conclusion, the HCG performed just like an effective anti-cancer drug. The HCG therapy treatment resulted in similar genetic signature changes that were recorded as a result of pregnancy.

The second set of rats treated with a combination of estrogen and progestin did not experience any genetic signature changes or any alleviation of the symptoms of their induced breast cancer.

Russo sees HCG as having a role in the future of breast cancer prevention. She hopes to see it used as a way to help women at high risk to alter their genetic signature to obtain protection for life from the ever increasing dangers of breast cancer. Further studies will be conducted to determine whether or not other factors are working in combination with the homeopathic HCG drops to offer the antitumor results that are so promising.