“The assumption that medicinal plants are not necessarily harmful – wrong”

Journal of Cancer reports that the new model bridges between herbal medicine conventional cancer treatments. Sub-clinical professor Eran Ben-Arye, co-author: “Tzemach unregulated use medicinal during chemotherapy endanger the patient.”

A new approach to integrate herbal medicine in treating oncological was born out of a rare collaboration between researchers from the Technion’s Rappaport Medical doctors from Syria, Iraq, Yemen and other countries.This was reported in the journal Cancer, which is being published as part of the American Cancer Society (American Cancer Society).

Sub-clinical professor Eran Ben-Arye, a leader of the study, explains that alternative medicine is gaining growing in the lives of many patients.”Tzemach medicinal use, particularly evident in cancer patients for many different reasons, including traditional herbal medicine affinity, yearning to improve the quality of life, reducing the side effects of oncological treatment and of course hope for a cure. Herbal Medicine Hospital applicants perceive it as a treatment for a relatively soft conventional drug therapy.They assume that because of the treatment plant being ‘natural’ is not necessarily harmful. ”

This assumption, according to Professor-year-old lion, wrong in many cases. “The use of herbal medicine are often based on unreliable information source unprofessional and charlatanism. Moreover, the use of alternative therapies such active during oncological treatment (chemotherapy), without the knowledge of the medical staff, is a real danger to the patient. ”

The article was published in Cancer focused on the safety of the 44 plants that are used often as a supplement to cancer chemotherapy. The researchers examined the internal workings of the plants with respect to current research literature and identified 29 significant safety issues plants: toxicity and side effects (18 plants); Plant interactions-a drug that may harm in oncology drug (15 plants), and the empowerment of chemotherapy in activities that might endanger the patient (7 plants).

“The assumption that plants are ‘innocent’, ‘natural’ and devoid of risk, a ‘natural so harmless, far from reality,” explains Prof. Ben-Arieh year. “On the other hand, a perception that rejects the use of plants during the oncological treatment, a ‘guilty until proven otherwise, is not applicable in Multiculturalism in Israel, where traditional herbal medicine affinity grounded in the perception of the health of many patients. Under these conditions, an antagonistic stance toward the physician’s use of plants will result in the patient not share the details of the alternative treatment. ”

According to Prof. Ben-Arieh matter, “The study’s findings of previous studies at the Technion research team and MERGIO (Research Group Oncology Middle East combined).”

In view of this, the researchers propose to combine the oncology department physicians trained in integrated medicine as part of the oncology team. “This model is designed to enhance the quality of life of patients using traditional treatment methods and complementary medicine based on evidence-based medicine , while ensuring the patient’s health and the effectiveness of the oncological treatment.”

The study was conducted by 17 authors from Israel and from 7 countries in the Middle East as part of MECC – Cancer Corporation Middle East, which connected 339 oncologists, nurses, researchers and medical personnel from 16 countries. Based on the findings of the study was formulated outlines research that examines attitudes of staff towards the possibility of oncological building an integrated model which is embedded oncology institutes throughout the Middle East.

This article was written by researchers at the Technion-year Clinical Professor Eran Ben-Arye, a clinical lecturer me Goldstein, Professor-year clinical Elad Schiff, Adjunct Senior Lecturer Dr. Noah Samuels and associate professor of clinical Gil Bar-Sela, in collaboration with colleagues from seven neighboring countries in the Middle East. This study was conducted with extraordinary cooperation of researchers and clinicians in the study group MERGIO (Middle-East Research Group in Integrative Oncology) operating in recent years as part of the Middle East Cancer Corporation – MECC (Middle East Cancer Consortium-).