using alternative medicines decreases the chances of survival

While the use of complementary therapies (diets, minerals, vitamins, yoga, acupuncture, naturopathy, homeopathy …) to treat cancers is on the rise in the United States, researchers wanted to evaluate their effectiveness. which had not been done so far. "While these therapies can be used to help patients with symptoms of cancer treatment, they appear to be marketed or considered effective cancer therapies," says Dr. Skyler Jonhson of the School of Medicine.

Refusal of conventional cancer treatments

However, the study, published in JAMA, has shown that the use of complementary medicine was badociated with a risk of death twice as high. Patients who make this choice generally refuse conventional cancer treatments (surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, radiotherapy).

Patients selected for the cohort were diagnosed with bad cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer or non-metastatic colorectal cancer, all diagnosed between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2013. 258 patients (199 women and 59 men, mean age 56) were in the alternative medicine group, and 1032 patients (798 women and 234 men, mean age 56 years) were in the control group.

Overall survival at 5 years lower

Patients who had recourse to alternative medicine had rates of surgery refusal (7.0% vs 0.1%), chemotherapy (34.1% vs 3.2), radiation therapy (53.0% vs. 2.3%) and hormone therapy (33.7% vs. 2.8%) were higher than patients in the control group. Alternative medicine was also badociated with overall survival at 5 years lower than conventional cancer treatments (82.2% vs 86.6%).

"It is important that patients considering them do not consider them as an alternative to conventional treatments that clinical trials have shown to make a real difference to survival," warns Martin Ledwick of Cancer Resarch UK. The authors also encourage physicians to discuss the subject of alternative therapies and the importance of conventional treatment with their patients.