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Essiac tea, Hoxsey tonic and similar herbal mixtures have been sold as cancer cures for a century. Laboratory tests and reviews by the NCI and Canadian regulators found no anticancer effect, and the clinics that sell them have never produced a controlled trial.
Essiac (burdock, sheep sorrel, slippery elm and Indian rhubarb) was promoted by Canadian nurse Rene Caisse from the 1920s; Hoxsey's herbal tonic and pastes were sold in Texas and then Tijuana from the 1930s. Reviews of Essiac case records by the Canadian Department of Health and Welfare (1982) and of Hoxsey's records by the NCI found no evidence of benefit. Laboratory studies of Essiac show no antiproliferative effect and one found stimulation of breast cancer cell growth; no clinical trial of either product has been done. The NCI PDQ summaries conclude that there is no evidence of efficacy. The mixtures are mostly harmless as teas, but they are sold to people who may then decline surgery or chemotherapy, and the Hoxsey escharotic pastes share the hazards of black salve.
No demonstrated anticancer mechanism; constituent herbs have laxative and diuretic effects only.
Query for this technology: (TITLE:"Essiac, Hoxsey and other 'herbal cancer cures'" OR ABSTRACT:"Essiac, Hoxsey and other 'herbal cancer cures'") AND (cancer OR tumor OR tumour OR oncology OR carcinoma OR lymphoma OR leukemia OR leukaemia OR myeloma OR sarcoma OR melanoma OR glioma). Results are unfiltered search hits about Essiac, Hoxsey and other 'herbal cancer cures', not a curated reading list.
Shares Unproven diet claims (alkaline, juice, 'anti-cancer' diets), Alternative medicine used instead of standard treatment, Evidence-based integrative oncology, Misinformation and unproven therapies and the tags complementary, supportive-care.
Shares Unproven diet claims (alkaline, juice, 'anti-cancer' diets), Alternative medicine used instead of standard treatment, Evidence-based integrative oncology, Misinformation and unproven therapies and the tags complementary, supportive-care.
Shares Unproven diet claims (alkaline, juice, 'anti-cancer' diets), Evidence-based integrative oncology, Misinformation and unproven therapies and the tags complementary, supportive-care.
Shares Evidence-based integrative oncology, Misinformation and unproven therapies and the tags complementary, supportive-care.
Shares Evidence-based integrative oncology, Misinformation and unproven therapies and the tags complementary, supportive-care.
Shares Alternative medicine used instead of standard treatment, Misinformation and unproven therapies and the tags complementary, supportive-care.
Shares Alternative medicine used instead of standard treatment, Evidence-based integrative oncology, Misinformation and unproven therapies and the tags complementary, supportive-care.
Shares Evidence-based integrative oncology, Misinformation and unproven therapies and the tags complementary, supportive-care.