Essiac (ESIAK) Versus Placebo to Improve Quality of Life in

www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00287482?order=1 This study is currently recruiting patients.

This is a pilot feasibility study being performed in women completing front-line treatment for breast or ovarian cancer. It is being done to evaluate whether or not an herbal combination known as Essiac (ESIAK) can improve the overall quality of life in these women as they transition from active treatment to follow-up, also known as the quality of life in transition. This information will be used to design a larger randomized trial.

Further study details as provided by Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island: Primary Outcomes: Quality of Life Secondary Outcomes: Toxicity; Feasibility Expected Total Enrollment: 20

Study start: October 2005; Expected completion: January 2008

Women transitioning from active treatment for breast or ovarian cancer to surveillance (QOL-T) can experience physical and psychological distress, related to both treatment (fatigue, alopecia, and menopausal symptoms), and the diagnosis itself. Intervention during the critical time of transition from active therapy to follow-up may help patients to adjust to life after cancer treatment.

Essiac has been documented to be a popular form of herbal treatment in patients with cancer. Given its lack of reported side effects, we are interested in pursuing a formal evaluation of a Essiac in capsule formulation (ESIAK) in women surviving breast or ovarian cancers to evaluate its role in improving the overall quality of life following chemotherapy that often accompanies the end of adjuvant therapy.