BRITAIN: Internet websites are recommending unproven complementary medicines for cancer that could interfere with conventional treatments and be dangerous or deadly, a leading expert said yesterday.
Prof Edzard Ernst analysed 32 websites and found many recommended treatments not supported by scientific evidence.
"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," said Prof Ernst, chair of complementary medicine at the Peninsula Medical School at the Universities of Exeter & Plymouth.
The websites recommended 118 cancer cures, 59 treatments to prevent the illness and 88 for palliative care. Some sites provided information which discouraged patients from using conventional treatments for cancer.
"A significant proportion of the websites are a risk to cancer patients," Prof Ernst said. "There is no good evidence that any complementary treatment can prevent cancer." But some sites provided very good information about complementary treatments for cancer and other illnesses, which he believed should be marked so patients know they are getting the best information.
In a survey, Prof Ernst conducted of 2,600 patients who had been prescribed a blood-thinning drug, he found that 9 per cent were also taking a herbal medicine which could interfere with the effectiveness of the conventional drug. But the majority of them had not told their doctors about the herbal medication. He believes complementary therapies have a place alongside conventional treatments but more research is needed. - (Reuters)