Homoeopathic approach for the treatment of cancer

Abstract

Homoeopathy is among the commonly used alternative approaches in Cancer. It is being widely used as palliative and curative in patients suffering from cancer. Though studies on the use of Homoeopathy in cancer after surgery, radio therapy and chemotherapy have been reported, clinical trials on effects of Homoeopathy in cancer are rare. Some studies on the effect of dosage of Homoeopathic medicines and their mechanism of action in cancer have also been published. A few case reports published here and there also find a mention in different databases. This review aims to describe literature available on the approach of Homoeopathy in Cancer by searching various databases like Elsevier, Google Scholar, Pub Med, Scopus, Springer and Wiley online library, electronically. It was found that beneficial effect of Homoeopathic medicines are reported on some cancer cell lines via apoptosis and immune modulation. Homoeopathic treatment given as add on also improves the quality of life, survival time and presenting complaints. However, more evidence needs to be generated to demonstrate anti tumor or antimetastatic potential in controlled clinical trials.