Complementary and alternative medicine for cancer treatment:magic or fraud?

Editor Group of TMR

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Quanjian Group,one of biggest health companies in China,is accused of making huge profits by misleading consumers.18 suspects--including Shu Yuhui,the largest shareholder of Quanjian Nature Medicine Technology Development Company--have been arrested by Tianjin prosecutors.

The case first drew public attention on Dec 25,2018,when Doctor Dingxiang wrote an article claiming that Zhou Yang,a 7-year-old girl,had died after taking medicine from Quanjian,which the company claimed had an anti-cancer effect[1].

This Quanjian incident once again triggered people's thinking about complementary and alternative medicine(CAM),with all kinds of health care products fulling the markets,claiming to be able to improve immunity,prevent and cure cancer.

On June 28,2018,a warning letter from FDA to the American Chinese Medicine Association(ACMA),Inc.was published on the FDA's official website,which criticized them for the advertisement on the internet about the therapeutic effects of traditional Chinese medicine products on cancer[2].CAM is getting more and more attention in cancer treatment,including botanical herbs,vitamins and minerals,Chinese medicine,Tai Chi,Qigong,acupuncture,homeopathy,physiotherapy,natural remedies,probiotics,Ayurvedic medicine,and specialized diet therapy,and so on.Patients generally use complementary therapies to improve their quality of life and gain psychological comfort/hope.But the efficacy of complementary therapies has been questioned for a long time.

A cohort study of 1,901,815 patients published in JAMA showed patients who received complementary medicine had a higher risk of death than those who didn’t take them[3].However,the majority of citizens at home and abroad support traditional therapies such as Tai Chi,acupuncture,and massage.they said"I love acupuncture!The experience is extremely effective"."Every time after the acupuncture,the pain is relieved and the pressure is relieved".On October 24,2018,President Donald Trump signed a bill called H.R.6,which aimed to find alternative drugs and treatments for pain and curbed the spread of opioid analgesics in the United States,which means that acupuncture and moxibustion will be hopefully recognized by the U.S.Department of Health as one of the pain replacement therapies paid by the Federal Insurance[4].

Not only CAM,but also Western medicine has been brought into questioned,too.Wei Zexi,a 21-year old Chinese college student from Shanxi,died on 12 April 2016 after receiving the immunotherapy DC-CIK[5].Wei's death lead to an investigation by the Cyberspace Administration of China,putting the immunotherapy under the spotlight of public opinion.Then immunotherapy was then discontinued in most hospitals of China.

Where there is light,there are lies.In-depth mechanism research,scientific efficacy evaluation and strict supervision may be a light and protection for cancer patients.

1.https://www.theepochtimes.com/chinese-health-company-quanjian-faces-second-suit-in-cancer-death-of-younggirl_2750437.html

2.https://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/ucm612377.htm?from=groupmessage&isappi nstalled=0

3.Johnson SB,Park HS,Gross CP,et al.Complementary Medicine,Refusal of Conventional Cancer Therapy,and SurvivalAmong Patients With Curable Cancers.JAMA Oncol 2018,4:1375-1381.

4.https://www.jqknews.com/news/91541-Chinese_acupuncture_and_moxibustion_will_be_included_in_the_US_medical_insurance_Americans_are_unhappy_sour_and_refreshing.html

5.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Wei_Zexi