Acupuncture, homeopathy, Chinese medicine … these alternative medicines can help cancer patients, provided they are done in addition to traditional care. According to a recent study published in the journal JAMA Oncology, patients’ chances of survival decrease when they are refractory to conventional treatments in favor of alternative therapies. These results are a continuation of a study published in August 2017.
The study was carried out by researchers and doctors from the faculty of medicine attached to Yale University in the United States. It involved 1290 patients with one of the four most common cancers in the country, namely breast, prostate, lung and colorectal cancer. In each case, the disease was diagnosed at an early stage, without metastasis.
Recall the importance of conventional care
Among this sample of patients, 258 had recourse to alternative therapies in addition to conventional treatment such as chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy and / or hormone therapy. In comparison, the researchers studied the files of 1032 patients who received only conventional care.
5 years after starting treatment, the first group had 82.2% survivors against 86.6% for the second. By comparing these two groups, the study indicates that 34% of participants in the first group refused chemotherapy against 3.2% in the second. Similarly, 53% refused radiotherapy in the group of people using alternative therapies, against 2.3% for the others. Finally, 7% refused surgery, against 0.1% for patients receiving only conventional care.
The authors of the study nevertheless stress that the use of alternative therapies does not increase mortality if it is not associated with a delay or refusal of conventional care. They invite physicians to discuss the subject openly with their patients and remind them of the importance of medical treatment.
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