St John's wort interferes with chemotherapy, study shows

Among antineoplastic agents metabolised through the liver in the P450 system are the vinca alkaloids and the drugs etoposide, teniposide, anthracycline, paclitaxel, docetaxel, and tamoxifen. Because many cancer patients seek alternative treatments and herbal remedies, Dr Ron Mathijssen, Dr Alex Sparreboom, and colleagues from the Department of Medical Oncology at the Erasmus University Daniel den Hoed Cancer Center, Rotterdam, sought to determine whether a significant drug interaction occurred between St John's Wort and irinotecan, an antineoplastic agent used against colon cancer.