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Overview

From University Health Services, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, and Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH.

Address reprint requests to David S. Rosenthal, MD, University Health Services, Harvard University, 75 Mount Auburn St, Cambridge, MA 02138-4901; email: drose{at}uhs.harvard.edu

THE SESSION WAS introduced by Drs Markman and Rosenthal. In their presenting comments, they announced that the focus of this symposium was on current cancer research on complementary and alternative methods (CAM), its challenges, the communication of this information to patients, and the integrative medicine efforts to enhance services for people with cancer. Definitions were presented for the clarification of CAM. Complementary therapy, also referred to as supportive therapy, refers to therapies that patients use along with conventional medicine that have been shown or proven to relieve symptoms and/or improve the quality of life. Alternative therapies are unproved therapies that patients use instead of conventional therapy in an attempt to prevent, lessen, or cure a disease. Integrative therapy is a term that describes the combined use of evidence-based or proven therapies and complementary therapies. The driving forces that have brought integrative therapies and the whole discussion of CAM therapies to the fore were presented. There are at least six major driving forces that have made this an important topic for American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting attendees. First, the CAM therapies are a billion-dollar industry within the United States, and, unfortunately, much of this industry is unregulated by the Food and Drug Administration or the Federal Trade Commission. A second driving force is the increasing public awareness about the use and misuse of these therapies. For example, prostate cancer support groups communicated among themselves and were the driving force that led to the clinical studies on an herbal compound comprised of eight components called PC-SPES. A third driving force is government support, demonstrated in the development of an increase in federal funds to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. A fourth major driving force is the lack of cure for chronic diseases such as cancer. A poor prognosis presented by a clinician may often drive a patient and his or her family toward the Internet and an independent search for a cure. A fifth major driving force in this past decade is the difficulty in navigating the healthcare system. Many individuals and patients are turning toward "self-care." Rather than trying to navigate through the healthcare system, the public is looking for ways to manage their own care. A final driving force is media pressure. There has certainly been a great deal of newspaper print on CAM therapies and alternative practitioners, which has led to increased awareness by clinicians as well as their patients.

After the introduction, the Chairs introduced Karen Antman, MD, who spoke briefly on the role of cancer centers in CAM research. She was followed by Barrie Cassileth, MD, from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, who talked about enhancing doctor/patient communication on CAM. Lisa Vincler, JD, presented the medical/legal risks to oncologists and hospitals of integrative medicine and the use of CAM therapies. The program concluded with a discussion forum that used a panel discussion and Q&A with the audience. The panel was moderated by Mary Ann Richardson, DRPh, the Program Director from the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The panel consisted of the three speakers and Charles Loprinzi, MD, from the Mayo Clinic, Debu Tripathy, MD, from the University of California at San Francisco, and Simone Zappa from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Issues discussed by the panel included barriers to the clinical investigation of CAM therapies, recent research programs in CAM therapies at various cancer centers, and ways to develop a program in CAM at a cancer center or ambulatory cancer facility.

NOTES

Presented as a Joint Symposium at the Thirty-Seventh Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, San Francisco, CA, May 11, 2001.

Drs Markman and Rosenthal chaired this session.

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This Article Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a colleague Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Save to my personal folders Download to citation manager Rights & Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Rosenthal, D. S. Articles by Markman, M. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Rosenthal, D. S. Articles by Markman, M. Social Bookmarking                            What's this?