ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is one of the main causes of mortality among women worldwide. This type of cancer metastasizes to different body tissues, giving rise to many problems. The effect of HESA-A, a drug of herbal-marine origin, on vision, quality of life, and survival of end-stage breast cancer patients was investigated in this study. MATERIAL/METHODS: In a double-blind study, 24 breast cancer patients with choroidal metastasis, aged between 41 and 49 years, were divided into case and control groups, treated with 50 mg/kg/day of HESA-A and placebo, respectively. The patients were evaluated in respect to the intensity of experienced pain, by assessing their rate of narcotic analgesic use. The patients' vision scale was also evaluated. RESULTS: Notable improvement was seen in the vision of patients treated with HESA-A. Patients receiving HESA-A used narcotics at lower doses, owing to reduced experience of pain. No changes were observed in the vision of control group patients, or their pain experience. CONCLUSIONS: The effects of natural compounds with antioxidant and anticancer properties have been emphasized by different studies. HESA-A is a compound of natural origin, consisting of rare elements and organic materials, which in several animal and cellular studies has shown powerful anticancer effects and less toxicity on normal cells. The results of this study showed considerable improvement in the vision of breast cancer patients treated with HESA-A.
