Study: Hot chili pepper component slows growth and kills laboratory-grown breast cancer cells

Mirror: Chillies could help beat cancer as research finds capsaicin destroys diseased cells
Rating: 2.5 Stars

• The headline, first sentence and general portrayal of the research in this media article are incorrect. The media article should clearly emphasize that these studies were done in cells grown in the laboratory with pure capsaicin, which does not mean chillies could help beat cancer in humans.
• No sources outside of the research study were interviewed for this media article.
• No limitations of the research study were discussed in this media article.

Medical News Today: Chili pepper compound can stop breast cancer, study finds
Rating: 2.5 Stars

• The headline of this media article is incorrect—this study does not suggest that the chili pepper compound can stop breast cancer.
• No sources outside were interviewed for this media article.
• No limitations of the research study were discussed in this media article. 

Daily Mail UK: Hot off the press! How the spicy kick in CHILLIES can 'help destroy cancer cells by making them self-destruct'
Rating: 2.5 Stars

• The headline and first sentence of the media article are not accurate. The research findings do not mean that eating chillies can help destroy cancer cells. The media article does not emphasize that research done in cells grown in the laboratory are not definitive findings and are not clinical applicable.
• There were no sources outside the research study interviewed for this media article.
• There were no limitations of the research study discussed in this media article.

Newsmax Health: Chili peppers inhibit cancer growth
Rating: 2.5 Stars

• The headline, first sentence and general portrayal of the research in this media article are exaggerated and incorrect. The headline claims that chili peppers inhibit cancer growth—this is not proven by the research. While the media article does state that eating food containing chili peppers would not be enough to treat triple-negative breast cancer, the reader would not read this until about the middle of the article, after it already claimed that chili peppers could inhibit cancer.
• No sources outside of the research study were interviewed for this media article.
• No limitations of the research study were discussed in this media article. 

University Herald: How eating curry can help kill breast cancer cells
Rating: 2.5 Stars

• The headline and first sentence of the media article are completely incorrect. The first sentence states that, “eating curry, according to experts, can help kill certain types of cancer cells without the need of chemotherapy.” This is completely incorrect. The findings from this research study cannot be translated to curry killing cancer cells.
• There were no sources outside the research study interviewed for this media article.
• There were no limitations of the research study discussed in this media article.

Yahoo News: Spicy foods might hold the key to a breast cancer cure
Rating: 2.5 Stars

• The headline and first sentence of this media article are completely incorrect. The research study does not find that spicy foods may help cure cancer.
• No sources outside of the research study were interviewed for the media article.
• No limitations of the research study were discussed in this media article.

Relevance: Medium-Low

• The findings of this study are not currently relevant to people diagnosed with breast cancer because they were done in cells grown in the laboratory. 

Strength of Science: Medium-High

• This research study suggests provides preliminary evidence that capsaicin, the spicy component of chili peppers could work with protein TRPV1 to help stop breast cancer growth in laboratory grown breast cancer cells. However, because this is a preliminary finding, much more work needs to be done to understand the roles of capsaicin and TRPV1 in breast cancer. 
• This research was well done as a scientific study with appropriate controls and statistical analysis.  
• However, this study is in human breast cells that are cultured in the laboratory not in human beings. The results from studies on cells grown in the laboratory and treated with hot chili may or may not be similar to results in those cells in humans when they are in the whole body. 

Research Timeline: Laboratory Research