Tibetan medicine for cancer: an overview and review of case studies.
Integr Cancer Ther
; 13(6): 502-12, 2014 Nov.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-25209591
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Tibetan medicine (TM) is a whole systems medical approach that has had growing interest in the West. However, minimal research, particularly with cancer, has been conducted. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of TM and describe a clinical case review study to obtain preliminary evidence of TM's safety and effect on patients treated for cancer or hematologic disorders.METHODS:
A retrospective case review was conducted in India and cases met the following inclusion criteria (a) confirmed diagnosis of cancer or hematologic disorder by standard Western biomedical diagnostic tests, (b) either treated exclusively with TM or received insufficient Western treatment followed by TM and (c) were in remission or had stable disease at least 2 years after start of TM.RESULTS:
Three cases were identified, 1 solid tumor and 2 hematologic diseases Case 1--poorly to moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma of the stomach, positive lymph nodes and mucosal infiltration, with clear scans and excellent quality of life 29 months later ; Case 2--chronic myelogenous leukemia with normalization of hematologic labs within 3 months of starting TM and stable 4 years later; and Case 3--red cell aplasia improved significantly and reversed dependence on blood transfusions with TM. None of the cases experienced demonstrable adverse effects from TM.CONCLUSIONS:
This limited case review found TM to be safe and have positive effects on quality of life and disease regression and remission in patients with cancer and blood disorders. Further exploration and investigation using rigorous methods is warranted.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Quality of Life
/
Medicine, Tibetan Traditional
/
Neoplasms
Type of study:
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Aspects:
Patient_preference
Limits:
Adult
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
En
Journal:
Integr Cancer Ther
Journal subject:
NEOPLASIAS
/
TERAPEUTICA
Year:
2014
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States