Research About CAM

Information about CAM research.

Levels of Evidence for Human Studies of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (PDQ®)
Information about how to weigh the strength of the evidence obtained in human studies of complementary and alternative medicine for cancer.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Dialogue Lacking Between Patients and Providers
(Type: MP3 | Time: 2:22 | Size: 2.1MB)
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NIH Podcast from April 19, 2011, A new survey from NCCAM and AARP finds that although many people 50 and older use complementary and alternative medicine they often do not inform their health care providers.

Acupuncture Reduces Joint Pain in Some Women with Breast Cancer
Article from Jan. 26, 2010 NCI Cancer Bulletin about acupuncture to improve joint pain in patients being  treated for breast cancer.

Antioxidant Supplement May Prevent Return of Precancerous Colorectal Growths
Article from Dec. 15, 2009, NCI Cancer Bulletin about antioxidant supplements and possible colorectal cancer prevention.

Diet May Protect Against Gene Changes in Smokers 
Article from Jan. 12, 2010, NCI Press Release about diet potentially protecting current and former smokers against lung cancer.

Dietary Supplements and Cancer Treatment: A Risky Mixture
Article from Aug. 11, 2009, NCI Cancer Bulletin about dietary supplements and cancer treatment.

NIH Study Finds That Coffee Drinkers Have Lower Risk of Death
Article from May 16, 2012, NCI Press Release about older adults who drank caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee had a lower risk of death overall than others who did not drink coffee.

NIH Study Finds Leisure-Time Physical Activity Extends Life Expectancy
Article from November 6, 2012, NCI Press Release about people who engaged in leisure-time physical activity had life expectancy gains of as much as 4.5 years.

Review Finds No Firm Evidence that Green Tea Prevents Cancer
Firm recommendations on the use of green tea in liquid or extract form to prevent cancer cannot be made based on available evidence.

Weight Lifting Does Not Exacerbate and May Improve Lymphedema Symptoms After Breast Cancer 
Progressive weight lifting did not aggregate limb swelling among breast cancer survivors with lymphedema in a study published August 13, 2009 in The New England Journal of Medicine.

 CAM Resources

Federal offices that focus on CAM, database of medical literature citations, newsletter, lectures.

Cure-ious? Ask
A Web site from the Federal Trade Commission with information for cancer patients about how to spot and report false health claims and the importance of talking with their physicians about treatments they are considering.

Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (OCCAM)
The Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (OCCAM) was established to coordinate and enhance the activities of the NCI in the arena of complementary and alternative medicine.

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
NCCAM, at the National Institutes of Health, is dedicated to exploring complementary and alternative healing practices in the context of rigorous science, training CAM researchers, and disseminating authoritative information.

NCCAM Resources for Health Care Providers
An online resource, designed to give health care providers easy access to evidence-based information on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

CAM on PubMed
This subset of the full PubMed database contains citations to journal articles related to complementary and alternative medicine.

OCCAM Newsletter
Find current and past issues of NCI CAM News, from the Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

OCCAM Monthly Lecture Series
Cancer CAM researchers discuss their completed and ongoing studies. Find the latest schedule for upcoming meetings and past meeting videocasts.