Evidence continues to mount supporting the traditional use of Ayurvedic herbs as potent alternative treatment and prevention options against cancer:

• Guggul. Laboratory research suggests that gugulipid extract (from guggul) may be effective against androgen-dependent and independent human prostate cancer cell lines. ³⁰
• Turmeric. Although a review of turmeric on the Tufts Medical Center site downplays the anti-cancer effects of turmeric and curcumin by only mentioning “animal and test tube studies,” in fact there are a number of small human clinical trials indicate that the curcumin in turmeric may be a powerful anti-cancer agent. ^31,43
• Frankincense (Boswellia serrata). Preliminary clinical trials suggest that frankincense can decrease symptoms associated with incurable brain tumors.²⁷

Results of one non-randomized Phase II trial published in 2008 in a peer reviewed journal published by the American Association for Cancer Research suggests that curcumin is beneficial in some patients with a particularly lethal cancer—pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Most patients with this type of pancreatic cancer die within a year. This study documented the effects of oral intake of eight grams of curcumin daily, showing that one patient of the 21 eligible for evaluation achieved slow improvement over a year and was still alive 18 months later at the time the report was written, and another had a short-lived but significant 73% reduction in tumor size. ³²