Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Cancer Treatment (PDQ®)
Cancer Information Summaries « English « Patients « C
Overview
- Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine (see Question 1 ).
- It is important that the same scientific evaluation that is used to assess conventional approaches be used to evaluate CAM therapies (see Question 3 ).
- The National Cancer Institute and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine are sponsoring or cosponsoring various clinical trials (research studies with people) to study CAM therapies for cancer (see Question 5 ).
- It is important that patients inform all of their health care providers about any therapies they are currently using or considering. This is to help ensure a safe and coordinated course of care (see Question 7 ).
This record was last updated on February 18th, 2009.
About the PDQ Cancer Information Summaries from the National Cancer Institute
PDQ (Physician Data Query) is a comprehensive cancer database published by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It contains peer-reviewed summaries on cancer treatment, screening, prevention, genetics, and supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine; a registry of cancer clinical trials; and directories of physicians, professionals who provide genetics services, and organizations that provide cancer care.
The PDQ Cancer Information Summaries are peer reviewed and updated monthly by six editorial boards comprised of specialists in adult treatment, pediatric treatment, supportive care, screening and prevention, genetics, and complementary and alternative medicine. The Boards review current literature from more than 70 biomedical journals, evaluate its relevance, and synthesize it into clear summaries. Many of the summaries are also available in Spanish.
Linked medical terms appearing on this page are added by Healia to help readers find more information and are not part of the original PDQ document.