Title:A Review on the Current Status of Homeopathy in the Clinical Manage-ment of Cancer
Volume: 23
Issue: 13
Author(s): Ajay Tangelloju, Rudra Chakravarti, Rajveer Singh, Bireswar Bhattacharya, Arijit Ghosh, Sujit Kumar Bhutia, Velayutham Ravichandiran and Dipanjan Ghosh*
Affiliation:
- Department of Natural Products, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Kolkata, India
Keywords:
Homeopathy, apoptosis, clinical trial, alternative therapeutics, cancer, palliative care.
Abstract: Homeopathy is a widely practiced alternate system of medicine around the world that
employs small doses of various medicines to promote auto-regulation and self-healing. It is among
the most commonly used alternative approaches in cancer and other diseases and alternative therapeutic
systems. It is widely used as palliative and as supportive therapy in cancer patients. Few cases
have been reported on patients using homeopathy after surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy,
generally for overcoming side effects. The dose of Homoeopathic medicines and their mechanism
of action in cancer has also been documented, while clinical trials on the effects of Homoeopathy in
cancer treatment are rare. It is found that the anticancer potential of homeopathic medicines is reported
for different cancer types, which show their efficacy through apoptosis and immune system
modulation. Homeopathic treatment is an add-on to conventional therapy, with almost no interaction
with the conventional drugs due to the small dose, and is largely attributed to improving lives
by providing symptomatic relief, increasing survival time and boosting patient immunity. This review
explores the accountability of the homeopathic system of medicine by highlighting some of
the most commonly used homeopathic drugs for different types of cancers.
