In addition to its help in blood sugar and cholesterol, Bitter Gourd has been linked to reduction in growth of breast cancer. Indian-born researcher at Saint-Louis University found elements in bitter gourd that inhibits the growth of cancerous cells.

Ratna Ray, a PhD. professor in the department of pathology at Saint Louis University expressing her surprise said, "To our knowledge, this is the first report describing the effect of bitter melon extract on cancer cells. Our result was encouraging. We have shown that bitter melon extract significantly induced death in breast cancer cells and decreased their growth and spread".

Dr. Ray's say on Cancer prevention by the use of naturally available substances, green vegetables is always considered a pragmatic approach to curb the rising commonness of cancer.

However, according to other researchers, it is believed that the bitter gourd or the 'karela' of India slashes blood sugar and cholesterol levels. As far as the findings linked to the breast cancer are concerned, significant studies are still pending as still work is in progress to decipher the association with cancer.