title: Integrative oncology in the Middle East: from traditional herbal knowledge to contemporary cancer care.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Based on traditional, historical, ethnobotanical, laboratory, and clinical findings, we present research framework aiming to identify Middle Eastern herbs that are worthy of further research for their anticancer potential.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comprehensive research project was developed by a multinational team comprising family physicians, medicine specialists, oncologists, an Islamic medicine history specialist, a traditional medicine ethnobotanist, and a basic research scientist. The project followed two consecutive phases: (i) historical and ethnobotanical search for cancer-related keywords and (ii) Medline search for in vitro and in vivo studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This search yielded 44 herbs associated with cancer care. The Medline search yielded 34 herbs of which 9 herbs were reported in various clinical studies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This multidisciplinary survey was found to be a valuable way to identify herbs with potential clinical significance in cancer care. Based on this pilot study, it is suggested that the Middle East can serve as a valuable region for future multicultural-oriented cancer research.
authors: Integrative Oncology Program, The Oncology Service and Lin Medical Center, Clalit Health Services, Haifa, Israel; Complementary and Traditional Medicine Unit, Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel. Electronic address: eranben@netvision.net.il.
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Ben-Arye
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Bnai-Zion Hospital, Haifa, Israel; Department for Complementary/Integrative Medicine, Law and Ethics,The International Center for Health, Law and Ethics, Haifa University, Haifa, Israel.
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Schiff
authors: Department of Botany, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza, Egypt.
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Hassan
authors: Department of Pediatric Oncology, Institute of Oncology, Dokuz Eylul University, Inciralti Izmir, Turkey.
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Mutafoglu
authors: Complementary Medicine Unit, Tel-Aviv Medical Center, Tel-Aviv.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Lev-Ari
authors: Department of Oncology, The Oncology Service and Lin Medical Center, Clalit Health Services, Haifa.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Steiner
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Carmel Medical Center, Haifa.
authors: O
authors: O
authors: Lavie
authors: Department of Hematology, Hadassah University Hospital, Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Polliack
authors: The Middle East Cancer Consortium, Haifa.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Silbermann
authors: Department of Eretz Israel Studies, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Lev
mesh_terms: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D019448:Ethnobotany; D006801:Humans; D008519:Medicine, Traditional / Q000379:methods*; D008877:Middle East; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic