Homeopathic Treatment as an Add-On Therapy May Improve Quality of Life and Prolong Survival in Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Prospective, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind, Three-Arm, Multicenter Study.

Conventional medicine and homeopathy work well together. Quality of life improves with additive homeopathy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Survival improves with additive homeopathy in patients with NSCLC. Patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have limited treatment options. Alongside conventional anticancer treatment, additive homeopathy might help to alleviate side effects of conventional therapy. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether additive homeopathy might influence quality of life (QoL) and survival in patients with NSCLC. In this prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, three-arm, multicenter, phase III study, we evaluated the possible effects of additive homeopathic treatment compared with placebo in patients with stage IV NSCLC, with respect to QoL in the two randomized groups and survival time in all three groups. Treated patients visited the outpatients' centers every 9 weeks: 150 patients with stage IV NSCLC were included in the study; 98 received either individualized homeopathic remedies (n = 51) or placebo (n = 47) in a double-blinded fashion; and 52 control patients without any homeopathic treatment were observed for survival only. The constituents of the different homeopathic remedies were mainly of plant, mineral, or animal origin. The remedies were manufactured by stepwise dilution and succussion, thereby preparing stable Good Manufacturing Practice grade formulations. QoL as well as functional and symptom scales showed significant improvement in the homeopathy group when compared with placebo after 9 and 18 weeks of homeopathic treatment (p < .001). Median survival time was significantly longer in the homeopathy group (435 days) versus placebo (257 days; p = .010) as well as versus control (228 days; p < .001). Survival rate in the homeopathy group differed significantly from placebo (p = .020) and from control (p < .001). QoL improved significantly in the homeopathy group compared with placebo. In addition, survival was significantly longer in the homeopathy group versus placebo and control. A higher QoL might have contributed to the prolonged survival. The study suggests that homeopathy positively influences not only QoL but also survival. Further studies including other tumor entities are warranted.

Frass M ，Lechleitner P ，Gründling C ，Pirker C ，Grasmuk-Siegl E ，Domayer J ，Hochmair M ，Gaertner K ，Duscheck C ，Muchitsch I ，Marosi C ，Schumacher M ，Zöchbauer-Müller S ，Manchanda RK ，Schrott A ，Burghuber O ... -  《-》

Homeopathy for treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.

Peckham EJ ，Nelson EA ，Greenhalgh J ，Cooper K ，Roberts ER ，Agrawal A ... -  《Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews》

Does a homeopathic medicine reduce hot flushes induced by adjuvant endocrine therapy in localized breast cancer patients? A multicenter randomized placebo-controlled phase III trial.

Heudel PE ，Van Praagh-Doreau I ，Duvert B ，Cauvin I ，Hardy-Bessard AC ，Jacquin JP ，Stefani L ，Vincent L ，Dramais D ，Guastalla JP ，Blanc E ，Belleville A ，Lavergne E ，Pérol D ... -  《-》

Additive homeopathy in cancer patients: Retrospective survival data from a homeopathic outpatient unit at the Medical University of Vienna.

Current literature suggests a positive influence of additive classical homeopathy on global health and well-being in cancer patients. Besides encouraging case reports, there is little if any research on long-term survival of patients who obtain homeopathic care during cancer treatment. Data from cancer patients who had undergone homeopathic treatment complementary to conventional anti-cancer treatment at the Outpatient Unit for Homeopathy in Malignant Diseases, Medical University Vienna, Department of Medicine I, Vienna, Austria, were collected, described and a retrospective subgroup-analysis with regard to survival time was performed. Patient inclusion criteria were at least three homeopathic consultations, fatal prognosis of disease, quantitative and qualitative description of patient characteristics, and survival time. In four years, a total of 538 patients were recorded to have visited the Outpatient Unit Homeopathy in Malignant Diseases, Medical University Vienna, Department of Medicine I, Vienna, Austria. 62.8% of them were women, and nearly 20% had breast cancer. From the 53.7% (n=287) who had undergone at least three homeopathic consultations within four years, 18.7% (n=54) fulfilled inclusion criteria for survival analysis. The surveyed neoplasms were glioblastoma, lung, cholangiocellular and pancreatic carcinomas, metastasized sarcoma, and renal cell carcinoma. Median overall survival was compared to expert expectations of survival outcomes by specific cancer type and was prolonged across observed cancer entities (p<0.001). Extended survival time in this sample of cancer patients with fatal prognosis but additive homeopathic treatment is interesting. However, findings are based on a small sample, and with only limited data available about patient and treatment characteristics. The relationship between homeopathic treatment and survival time requires prospective investigation in larger samples possibly using matched-pair control analysis or randomized trials.

Gaertner K ，Müllner M ，Friehs H ，Schuster E ，Marosi C ，Muchitsch I ，Frass M ，Kaye AD ... -  《-》

[A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled safety study to evaluate the clinical effects and quality of life of paclitaxel-carboplatin (PC) alone or combined with endostar for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)].

Han BH ，Xiu QY ，Wang HM ，Shen J ，Gu AQ ，Luo Y ，Bai CX ，Guo SL ，Liu WC ，Zhuang ZX ，Zhang Y ，Zhao YZ ，Jiang LY ，Shi CL ，Jin B ，Zhou JY ，Jin XQ ... -  《-》