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[How useful are diets against cancer?]
J Hübner1, S Marienfeld, C Abbenhardt
1Universitäres Centrum für Tumorerkrankungen (UCT), Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main. Huebner@med.uni-frankfurt.de
Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift (1946)
|November 16, 2012
Summary
Cancer diets are popular among patients, but scientific evidence does not support their effectiveness. These diets may lead to malnutrition and adverse effects, with no proven survival benefits.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Nutritional Science
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Background:
- Cancer patients often seek dietary interventions to influence disease progression.
- Various popular diets are discussed among patients, including the Budwig diet, Gerson regimen, low-carbohydrate diet, Breuß diet, and macrobiotic diet.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and evaluate the most influential "cancer diets" in Germany.
- To assess the scientific evidence supporting the efficacy and safety of popular cancer diets.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of patient discussions in the "Krebs-Kompass" chatroom.
- Review of search engine trends (Google, Bing) and expert counseling experience.
- Systematic literature review of clinical and preclinical data in Medline.
Main Results:
- Popular diets are often based on theories of carcinogenesis related to substance imbalance or metabolic dysfunction.
- No clinical studies demonstrate positive survival outcomes associated with these diets.
- Evidence suggests potential risks including malnutrition and adverse side effects.
Conclusions:
- There is no scientific indication to recommend "cancer diets" for cancer patients.
- Adverse effects are possible, and patients should be cautioned against adopting such diets.
- Healthcare professionals should discuss nutritional strategies and warn patients about unproven dietary interventions.
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