About researching complementary and alternative therapies
This page tells you about why we need research into complementary and alternative therapies in cancer care and some of the problems with this type of research. There is information about
Research into complementary and alternative cancer therapies is important for several reasons, including
- To prove that specific therapies do what they claim to do
- To test them against other already accepted treatments to see if they are better
- To check that they are safe
- To find out if they improve quality of life for people with cancer
- To find out if they interact with conventional medicines
Research is important for any medical intervention because from anecdotal evidence you can’t be sure that something works. One person, or even a dozen people, believing that a particular diet or herb cured them is not enough. An improvement in their health could be
- A coincidence
- Due to another medicine they have taken
- Due to something else they’ve done.
Medicines used to treat or cure disease must be developed and tested in laboratories. For ethical and safety reasons, experimental treatments must be tested in the laboratory before they can be tried in people. This applies to therapies that use herbs, vitamins, minerals, and any other substances.
Although other types of complementary therapies such as massage or yoga aren’t tested in the laboratory, they still need to be researched to test their benefits and safety.
There is more below about the difficulties of researching this area.
Tests involving patients are called clinical trials and there are 4 phases. This is fully explained in the trials and research section of CancerHelp UK. As well as different phases, there are different types of clinical trials. These are chosen to fit the type of therapy being tested.
They include
Researchers can also look at the results of several trials together. This is called a systematic review or meta analysis. In this way, researchers can get a more accurate picture than if they look at just one trial.
If you are interested in taking part in a clinical trial, you can look on our searchable database of clinical trials in the UK. Currently, only a few trials involve complementary therapies but more trials are being planned all the time. If there is a trial you are interested in, you can print off the information from CancerHelp UK and take it to your own specialist. If the trial is suitable for you, your doctor will need to make the referral to the research team.
Research into complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has increased over the last few years. This is due to a significant change in how health professionals and patients view complementary therapies. There are several reasons for this shift in views, including
- A general increase in the use of CAM to almost 6 million people in the UK each year
- The number of people with cancer using these therapies is estimated at over 3 in 10 (30%). Some recent research has shown that as many as 4 in 10 (40%) use them
- Reports showing that some therapies do improve quality of life for people with cancer
- The Government’s acceptance of the House of Lords’ Science and Technology Committee’s report on Complementary and Alternative Medicine in 2000
- The publication of National Guidelines for the Use of Complementary Therapies in Palliative Care by the Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health in May 2003
- The NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) Service Guidance for ’Improving Supportive and Palliative Care for Adults with Cancer’ published in March 2004 has a chapter about the use of complementary therapies
- In the autumn of 2004, the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) set up a new group, the Complementary Therapies Clinical Studies Development Group, to encourage and oversee research into complementary therapies in the UK
- The Cancer Reform Strategy, Department of Health, 2007
- The 2009 King’s Fund Advisory Group report 'Assessing complementary practice: building consensus on appropriate research methods' advised researchers, funders and practitioners to collaborate in finding a way forward to contribute to our understanding of complementary practice and our ability to manage and sustain health and well-being.
The Society of Integrative Oncology (SIO) was established in 2003. Its development has also encouraged awareness and research opportunities internationally. The SIO is a non profit organisation of health professionals involved in studying and researching use of complementary therapies alongside conventional cancer treatments. They hold yearly international conferences and publish a journal.
Another international development is the European Research Initiative on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (EURICAM). They aim to encourage European governments to spend more on researching complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) so that there is better evidence for using them.
Most health professionals agree that we need to do more research into the role of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) in cancer care. Much of the research that’s been done so far isn’t strong enough scientifically or statistically to prove the benefits or risks of these therapies.
Some of the problems that have held back research in this area include
- Difficulties in getting funding for the research
- Lack of time for medical doctors and complementary therapists to work closely together on research
- Problems involved with designing appropriate clinical trials for certain therapies
- Lack of complementary therapists with research experience and knowledge
Before research in this area can grow, researchers and complementary therapists need to work together to design suitable clinical trials for particular types of therapies. Results from well designed trials would provide reliable evidence on which doctors and therapists could base recommendations. So we would have a better understanding of how safe and helpful these therapies may be. Such joint working is beginning to happen more often, but researchers and complementary therapists still have some way to go.
The traditional design of clinical trials is said by many complementary therapists not to be suitable for testing this kind of treatment. They understandably don’t like a ‘laboratory’ setting. And there are difficulties with having a control group. But progress is being made. The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) study group is looking into CAM research and aiming to encourage more of it.
This varies between countries. In the UK, the main areas of research interest in cancer care have been with touch therapies such as massage, and mind body therapies such as
There has also been a focus on acupuncture to help control the side effects of cancer treatments. But relatively little UK research has been carried out into nutritional and herbal medicine. On the other hand, there is a lot more research in the USA into herbs, vitamins and dietary supplements than into mind, body and touch therapies.
In the past, very little money has been available for research into complementary therapies in cancer care in the UK. But things are beginning to change and more money is becoming available. UK research is funded by
- The Government - for example through the Department of Health (DOH) or the Medical Research Council (MRC)
- Charities, including Cancer Research UK (CRUK)
- Universities and academic departments in hospitals
If you’ve taken part in a clinical trial and want to know the results, the easiest thing to do is ask your doctor or therapist. If the results are available, they should be able to find them for you. If you want to find out about other trial results there is more information about how to find results of trials in the question and answer section of CancerHelp UK. This includes information on where and when results are published, and how you can find out about them.
Sometimes trial results can be obscure or conflicting. The Complementary and Alternative Medicine Evidence Online (CAMEOL) database can help you understand the results of clinical trials. The CAMEOL database was set up by the The Research Council for Complementary Medicine in partnership with the School of Integrated Health at the University of Westminster in London. It reviews the research evidence into the effectiveness of specific complementary therapies used within NHS priority areas, including cancer care. There are reviews on the use in cancer care of various therapies, including
New reviews are added as research is done.
For more information about using complementary and alternative therapy research look at our complementary therapy reading list.
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