Complementary cancer medication

Abstract

Complementary cancer therapy such as herbal products have never been proven to be of efficacy, at least not by the evidence-based standards of today’s medical care. Moreover, such therapies may, in many ways, interact negatively with conventional cancer treatment. Indeed, cancer patients should inform their health care providers if they are taking herbal products because some of these compounds may actually reduce the efficacy of conventional and standard medications, treatments of proven effectiveness in extensive and expensive clinical trials. These points were recently highlighted at an international level by Professor Maria João Cardoso, Head Breast Surgeon at the Breast Unit of the Champalimaud Cancer Center in Lisbon, at the Advanced Breast Cancer Fifth International Consensus Conference.