title: Additive homeopathy in cancer patients: Retrospective survival data from a homeopathic outpatient unit at the Medical University of Vienna.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Current literature suggests a positive influence of additive classical homeopathy on global health and well-being in cancer patients. Besides encouraging case reports, there is little if any research on long-term survival of patients who obtain homeopathic care during cancer treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from cancer patients who had undergone homeopathic treatment complementary to conventional anti-cancer treatment at the Outpatient Unit for Homeopathy in Malignant Diseases, Medical University Vienna, Department of Medicine I, Vienna, Austria, were collected, described and a retrospective subgroup-analysis with regard to survival time was performed. Patient inclusion criteria were at least three homeopathic consultations, fatal prognosis of disease, quantitative and qualitative description of patient characteristics, and survival time.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In four years, a total of 538 patients were recorded to have visited the Outpatient Unit Homeopathy in Malignant Diseases, Medical University Vienna, Department of Medicine I, Vienna, Austria. 62.8% of them were women, and nearly 20% had breast cancer. From the 53.7% (n=287) who had undergone at least three homeopathic consultations within four years, 18.7% (n=54) fulfilled inclusion criteria for survival analysis. The surveyed neoplasms were glioblastoma, lung, cholangiocellular and pancreatic carcinomas, metastasized sarcoma, and renal cell carcinoma. Median overall survival was compared to expert expectations of survival outcomes by specific cancer type and was prolonged across observed cancer entities (p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Extended survival time in this sample of cancer patients with fatal prognosis but additive homeopathic treatment is interesting. However, findings are based on a small sample, and with only limited data available about patient and treatment characteristics. The relationship between homeopathic treatment and survival time requires prospective investigation in larger samples possibly using matched-pair control analysis or randomized trials.
authors.affiliation: Medical University Vienna, Department of Medicine I, Clinical Division of Oncology, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Institute of Complementary Medicine, Medical University Bern, Inselspital, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gaertner
authors.affiliation: Medical University Vienna, Department of Medicine I, Clinical Division of Oncology, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Müllner
authors.affiliation: Medical University Vienna, Department of Medicine I, Clinical Division of Oncology, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Helmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Friehs
authors.affiliation: Medical University of Vienna, Center for Medical Statistics, Informatics, and Intelligent Systems, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Ernst
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.affiliation: Medical University Vienna, Department of Medicine I, Clinical Division of Oncology, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marosi
authors.affiliation: Austrian Chamber of Pharmacists, Department Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Ilse
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Muchitsch
authors.affiliation: Medical University Vienna, Department of Medicine I, Clinical Division of Oncology, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria; WissHom (Scientific Society for Homeopathy), Köthen, Germany(1).
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Frass
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Department of Pharmacology, Louisiana State University School of Medicine Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, United States. Electronic address: akaye@lsuhsc.edu.
authors.forename: Alan David
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Kaye
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001317:Austria / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006705:Homeopathy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D010045:Outpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis
keywords: Cancer; Cholangiocellular cancer; Glioblastoma; Homeopathy; Lung; Metastasized sarcoma; Pancreatic carcinomas; Renal cell carcinoma