Resources
MD Anderson Resources on Complementary/Integrative Cancer Therapies
Integrative Medicine Program
The Integrative Medicine Program provides structure and direction for research, education and patient care efforts in complementary and integrative medicine.
Clinical Trials
For a complete list of all clinical trials including complementary/integrative cancer treatments, visit the Clinical Trials at MD Anderson Cancer Center page.
The Learning Center
The Learning Center is a free consumer health information library in the Houston area that is open to the public. It is a place to find information about cancer prevention, cancer care and support, general health questions and wellness.
Department of Clinical Nutrition
The Department of Clinical Nutrition strives to promote comprehensive nutritional care and education for patients, and cancer-related nutrition education for the public at large. Registered, licensed dietitians and dietetic specialists can answer specific questions regarding cancer prevention, management of treatment side effects, special diets and nutritional supplements.
The Anderson Network
Sometimes the best help comes from someone who’s been there. Through the Anderson Network you can talk with a cancer survivor with the same diagnosis and treatment and learn of other support programs available for you.
External Resources on Complementary/Integrative Cancer Therapies
The staff of MD Anderson Cancer Center Complementary/Integrative Medicine Educational Resources (CIMER) hope these resources are helpful and informative. We acknowledge that the information and resources listed here are not complete. Recommendations that are included within any of these resources does not imply endorsement or recommendation by MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Books and Periodicals
Note: Listed below are a few examples of the numerous books available concerning alternative and complementary / integrative therapies. These and other resources are available at the MD Anderson Research Medical Library and the MD Anderson Learning Center. Links will open in a new window. MD Anderson does not endorse external sites.
Complementary/Alternative/Integrative Medicine: General
The Burton Goldberg Group. Alternative Medicine the Definitive Guide. Future Medicine Publishing, Inc. Puyallup, Washington. An encyclopedic compilation of descriptions of alternative therapies by leading proponents of those therapies. As such, it is not evidence based and some of the therapies may be harmful in certain situations.
*Cassileth, Barrie. Alternative Medicine Handbook. New York, W.W. Norton and Co. 1998.
*Decker, Georgia, (Ed.) An Introduction to Complementary and Alternative Therapies. Pittsburgh, Oncology Nursing Press, Inc., 1999.
*Gordon, Jim and Curtin, Sharon. Comprehensive Cancer Care: Integrating Alternative, Complementary, and Conventional Therapies. Perseus Publishing, 2000.
Jonas, Wayne B., Levin, Jeffrey S., Berman, Brian et al. (eds). Essentials of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Philadelphia: Williams & Wilkins, 1999.
*Micozzi, M. Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. NY, Churchill Livingstone, 1997.
Mills, Simon and Bone, Kerry. Principles and Practices of Phytotherapy, Modern Herbal Medicine. Churchill Livingstone 2000.
*Sifton, David W (ed). PDR Family Guide to Natural Medicines and Healing Therapies. NY, Three Rivers Press, 1999.
*Weil, Andrew. Spontaneous Healing. NY, Borzoi Book published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1995.
*Recommended by the Cancer Patient Education Network of the National Cancer Institute (revised October, 2000).
Complementary/Alternative/Integrative Medicine: Cancer
*American Cancer Society. American Cancer Society's Guide to Complementary and Alternative Cancer Methods. Atlanta, GA., American Cancer Society, 2000.
Boik, John. Cancer & Natural Medicine: a textbook of basic science and clinical research. Princeton, MN, Oregon Medical Press, 2000.
*Lerner, Ph.D., Michael, Choices in Healing: Integrating the Best of Conventional and Complementary Approaches to Cancer. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1994.
Moss, Ralph W. Cancer Therapy The Independent Consumers Guide to Non-Toxic Treatment & Prevention. Equinox Press. New York, 1992. Although some of the research cited may be limited to animal studies and/or supplanted by more recent research, this reference provides important information concerning the available evidence at the time and rationale for the development of many alternative therapies for cancer.
* Recommended by the Cancer Patient Education Network of the National Cancer Institute (revised October, 2000).
Herbal/Plant Therapies
American Institute of Cancer. Dietary Phytochemicals in Cancer Prevention & Treatment, New York, Plenum Press, l996.
Bisset, Norman G. (Ed.) Herbal Drugs and Phytochemicals (A handbook for practice on a scientific basis). Medpharm Scientific Publishers, Stuttgart, 1994.
*Blumenthal, Mark (ed). The Complete German Commission E monographs: Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines. American Botanical Council. (Government sponsored review of over 300 herbs.)
*Blumenthal, Mark (ed). The Expanded German Commission E monographs: Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines. American Botanical Council. (Provides an indepth review of 100 of the top herbs.)
Crellin JK, Philpott J, editors. Herbal medicine past and present. Volume II. A reference guide to medicinal plants. Duke University Press: Durham and London 1990
Duke, James A. The Green Pharmacy: New Discoveries in Herbal Remedies for Common Diseases and Conditions from the World's Foremost Authority on Healing Herbs, St. Martins Press, 1997.
Foster, Steven and Tyler, Varro E. Tyler's Honest Herbal: a Sensible Guide to the Use of Herbs and Related Remedies. (4th ed), NY, Haworth Herbal Press, 1999.
Institute for Phytopharmaceuticals, Herbal Remedies - review of 600 plants. (CD-Rom available from American Botanical Council)
*Moss, Ralph. Herbs Against Cancer. Brooklyn, NY, Equinox Press Inc., 1998.
Newall, Carol; Anderson, Linda; Phillipson, J. David. Herbal Medicines - A Guide for Health-Care Professionals. London. The Pharmaceutical Press, l996.
Schultz, Volker. Rational phytotherapy: a Physician's Guide to Herbal Medicine. 4th ed, New York, Springer, 2000.
PDR for Herbal Medicine. Medical Economics Company, Montvale, NJ, 1999.
* Recommended by the Cancer Patient Education Network of the National Cancer Institute (revised October, 2000).
Oriental Medicine
Kaptchuk, Ted J., The Web That Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine, 2nd ed. Lincolnwood, IL. Contemporary Books, 2000.
Huang, KC. The Pharmacology of Chinese Herbs. (2nd ed.) Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1999.
Peer Reviewed Journals
The following journals review a variety of alternative/complementary approaches rather than promoting any specific therapies:
Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
Journal of the Society for Integrative Oncology
The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
The Quarterly Review of Natural Medicine
(Not available on-line)
Internet Resources
Nutritional Supplements
*The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements supports research and disseminates results in the area of dietary supplements. It maintains a database of several hundred thousand references, the International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements (IBIDS).
ConsumerLab.com - ConsumerLab ("CL") provides independent test results and information to help consumers and healthcare professionals evaluate health, wellness and nutrition products. It publishes results of its tests online, including listings of brands that have passed testing.
Herbal Supplements
American Botanical Council - This non-profit education and research organization disseminates science-based information promoting the safe and effective use of medicinal plants and phytomedicines.
Botanical.com - This Website contains an online version of "A Modern Herbal", by Mrs. Maud Grieve, originally published in 1931. Although written with the conventional wisdom of the early 1900s, it continues to be a leading authority on herbal harvesting and usage. An extensive index of common names for plants is accessible via the Website's search engine.
ConsumerLab.com - ConsumerLab ("CL") provides independent test results and information to help consumers and healthcare professionals evaluate health, wellness and nutrition products. It publishes results of its tests online, including listings of brands that have passed testing.
Herb Research Foundation - This member supported non-profit organization provides comprehensive scientific information on medicinal plants from a botanical library containing more than 300,000 scientific papers plus multiple online sources.
National Agricultural Library - As part of the Agricultural Research Service of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the National Agricultural Library (NAL), is one of four national libraries in the United States and a major international source for agriculture and related information.
Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases - Several searchable databases compiled by Jim Duke and Stephen Beckstrom-Sternberg, ethnobotanists of the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), include chemical constituents of plants.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition - This center within the FDA is responsible for monitoring safety (voluntary adverse event reporting, labeling, claims, package inserts and accompanying literature) and for taking action against any unsafe dietary supplement product after it reaches the market.
NAPRALERT is an acronym for NAtural PRoducts ALERT, the Center for Botanical Dietary Supplements Research, located at the College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago. It is the largest relational database of world literature describing the ethnomedical or traditional uses, chemistry and pharmacology of plant, microbial and animal (primarily marine) extracts. This is a subscription/fee based database.
Complementary Therapies, General
*The Alternative Medicine Homepage - Under the direction of a medical librarian of the Health Sciences Library System of the University of Pittsburgh, this Website provides references to major bibliographic databases containing complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) resources.
*Ask NOAH - This New York Online Access to Help Website provides key information in English and Spanish about numerous health topics including CAM therapies.
*National Center of Complementary and Alternative Medicine - This center within the U. S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) supports rigorous research on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), trains researchers in CAM and disseminates information to the public and professionals on which CAM modalities work, which do not and why.
American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) is the national professional society representing naturopathic physicians who are licensed or eligible for licensing as primary care providers.
American College for Advancement in Medicine - This medical society is dedicated to educating physicians on the latest findings and emerging procedures in complementary/alternative medicine, with special emphasis on preventive/nutritional medicine for various diseases. (A prime interest for this organization is the use of chelation therapy.)
Center for Mind-Body Medicine offers experiences, perspectives and tools for healing.
Complementary Therapies, Cancer
American Cancer Society - The cancer information, treatment options and resources on this Website include an extensive discussion of Complementary and Alternative Therapies.
*Cancer Information Service of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) - As the Federal Government's principal agency for cancer research and training, the National Cancer Institute conducts and supports research, training, health information dissemination and other programs concerning cancer.
*Commonweal Cancer Help Program - Supportive programs for health professionals and people with cancer. Programs for patients emphasize informed choices for patients in integrating conventional cancer treatment with complementary treatment. Programs for physicians include CME credit workshops on relationship-centered care to find deeper satisfaction and meaning in the day-to-day practice of medicine.
*Defeat Cancer - DEFEAT Cancer is sponsored by St. Charles Medical Center, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and Advanced Specialty Care. DEFEAT offers programs and events which focus on nutrition, physical activity, education and inspiration for cancer survivors and their caregivers. The DEFEAT website also offers monthly summaries of peer-reviewed medical literature on exercise & nutrition during and after cancer.
*The National Cancer Institute Office of Cancer Complementary & Alternative Medicine - This office within the NCI provides reviews of some complementary therapies for cancer. It also reviews sets of best cases submitted by clinics providing complementary therapies.
*Rosenthal Center for Alternative/Complementary Medicine - Columbia University - Specializing in women's health, this center provides evidence based reviews in addition to notices of current and proposed clinical trials.
*Steve Dunn's Cancer Information Page - This knowledgeable cancer survivor provides patients with tools for learning about the fundamentals of cancer, comprehending survival assessments, assessing both conventional and complementary research and reading about other cancer survivors.
*Recommended by the Cancer Patient Education Network (CPEN) of the National Cancer Institute (revised October, 2000).
Complementary Therapies, Clinical Trials
National Cancer Institute (NCI) clinical trials in complementary alternative/integrative therapies are listed at the Web site of the NCI's information service, CancerNet, (Step 1, choose all trials; step 2, narrow search to Modality, complementary and alternative medicine.)
Complementary Therapies, Legal Issues
The Complementary and Alternative Medicine Law Blog provides general information on current legal developments pertaining to CAM, such as licensure and credentialing, dietary supplements, malpractice and professional liability and ethical issues.
Complementary Therapies, Other Educational Materials and Information
Taking Charge of Your Health - The University of Minnesota offers a free Web site that will help you make individualized decisions that are right for you when exploring complementary therapies, creating healthy lifestyles and navigating the healthcare system.
Understanding Cancer, the Immune System, Angiogenesis and Estrogen Receptors
Recently developed concepts in cancer and its treatment are described by the National Cancer Institute series, Science Behind the News.