A new study found that the herb milk thistle may help treat liver inflammation in cancer patients who receive chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy drugs frequently cause inflammation in the liver. Clinical studies have investigated using milk thistle to treat liver damage from cirrhosis or toxins. Despite limited study data, the herb is often used for the treatment of chemotherapy associated liver problems.
To test whether milk thistle could help treat these problems, researchers looked at 50 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). They received either milk thistle or a placebo for 28 days. When the investigators performed liver function tests, they found that children receiving milk thistle had improvements in their liver enzymes.