Dr Mark Porter talks about breast cancer
Dr Mark Porter says?

Does taking evening primrose oil protect against breast cancer?

Evening primrose oil hit the headlines last year after researchers in America found that a key ingredient in the supplement - gamma linolenic acid or GLA - appeared to slow the growth of one of the more aggressive types of breast cancer.

It's an important discovery because this particular form of the disease is not only harder to treat, but it is also very common accounting for around 1 in 5 of the 41,000 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed in the UK every year.

But it is still early days and it is important to point out that the tests were carried out on cancer cells in a laboratory and not on real women, and it's not clear whether GLA works as well in people.

Bottom line? Although breast cancer experts are excited by these findings more research needs to be done before they are in a position to recommend evening primrose oil for the prevention or treatment of the disease. Watch this space.

Please note the information above has not been updated since 25 March 2008.