The use of medicinal plants to treat breast cancer: integrative literature review

Abstract

Dealing with the use of medicinal plants as an alternative form of treatment for breast cancer is essential, given that cancer is an extremely invasive disease that requires aggressive treatment of symptoms and treatment requires caution in relation to medications herbal medicines used and the pharmacist has an important role in this orientation. To discuss the role of medicinal plants in the woman's body to fight breast cancer from a pharmaceutical perspective. This is an integrative literature review that presented the main results of ten articles published between the years 2014-2022, in Portuguese, found in the following research platforms: SciELO, LILACS, PubMED and Google Scholar using the descriptors : Phytotherapy; medicinal plants; breast cancer and pharmacy. The articles selected for analysis demonstrate that there are more than 60 types of plants that can be used in herbal treatment for breast cancer, requiring the intervention of the pharmacist to guide the proper handling aiming at the conscious use of homemade medicines by part of the patients. It was highlighted that awareness of the correct use of herbal medicines is essential for this to occur safely without harming the patient.