Carctol

Carctol is an ineffective cancer treatment made by mixing eight Indian herbs.[1] First promoted in 1968 by Nandlal Tiwari,[1] it gained widespread popularity in United Kingdom.[2]

Carctol has been aggressively marketed as being able to treat cancer and reduce the side-effects of chemotherapy. However, there is no medical evidence that it has any benefits whatsoever for people with cancer.[1]

Background

Carctol is a herbal dietary supplement marketed with claims it is based on traditional ayurvedic medicine.[1] Its ingredients include Hemidesmus indicus, Tribulus terrestris, Piper cubeba, Ammani vesicatoria, Lepidium sativum, Blepharis edulis, Smilax china, and Rheum australe (syn. R. emodi).[1]

It was In 2009, Edzard Ernst wrote that it was still promoted in the United Kingdom; public relations companies hired by its sellers had garnered it wide coverage on the web and,[2] according to the British Medical Journal, in the media generally.[3]

Criticism

Edzard Ernst has noted a complete absence of any form of scientific evidence to assert that carctol is any beneficial to cancer patients.[2] A few studies about the chemical composition of carctol along with inconclusive surveys of patients who used it were noted to be published in non-peer reviewed journals.[2]

Cancer Research UK say of carctol, "available scientific evidence does not support its use for the treatment of cancer in humans".[1]

Harriet A. Hall includes carctol among the biologically-based remedies promoted by naturopaths. Hall laments that frauds and quacks persistently try to take advantage of the vulnerability of cancer patients.[4]

See also

References
  1. "About Cancer". Cancer Research UK. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2018. there isn't any scientific evidence to prove that it is safe or works as a treatment for any type of illness
  2. Ernst, Edzard (2009). "Carctol: Profit before Patients?". Breast Care. 4 (1): 31–33. doi:10.1159/000193025. PMC 2942009. PMID 20877681.
  3. Marks, N. (2004). "PR coup for herbal cancer drug". BMJ. 329 (7469): 804. doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7469.804. PMC 521016.
  4. Hall, Harriet A. (2012). "CAM for cancer: Preying on desperate people?". Progress in Palliative Care. 20 (5): 295–299. doi:10.1179/1743291X12Y.0000000009. S2CID 72796644.


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