RESUMO
BACKGROUND: To investigate whether the combination of anastrozole and Tualang honey (T honey) influences background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) in breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of postmenopausal women with breast cancer. METHODS: A total of 30 patients were recruited and randomly divided into control (anastrozole 1 mg daily) and intervention (anastrozole 1 mg + T honey 20 g daily). The BPE of the contralateral breast before and six months following treatment was compared using the sign test. RESULTS: There was a decrease in BPE in 10% of the women (p = 0.317) who received only anastrozole, which resulted in a change of BPE category from moderate to mild. However, the combination of anastrozole and T honey evoked a decrease in BPE in 42% of the patients (p = 0.034). CONCLUSIONS: The combination of T honey and anastrozole maybe more efficacious than anastrozole alone in decreasing breast BPE in breast cancer patients. These findings support the medicinal value of T honey as an adjuvant treatment to anastrozole.