Re-analysis of survival data of cancer patients utilizing additive homeopathy. (August 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gleiss, Andreas; Frass, Michael; Gaertner, Katharina
• Is Part Of: Complementary therapies in medicine. Volume 27(2016)
• Page Start: 65
• Page End: 67
• Publication Date: 2016-08
• Subjects: Additive homeopathy -- Cancer -- Immortal time bias -- Landmark; Alternative medicine -- Periodicals; Complementary Therapies -- Periodicals; Médecines parallèles -- Périodiques; Thérapeutique -- Périodiques; Alternative medicine; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 615.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2016.06.001
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0965-2299

Abstract

Abstract: In this short communication we present a re-analysis of homeopathic patient data in comparison to control patient data from the same Outpatient´s Unit "Homeopathy in malignant diseases" of the Medical University of Vienna. In this analysis we took account of a probable immortal time bias. For patients suffering from advanced stages of cancer and surviving the first 6 or 12 months after diagnosis, respectively, the results show that utilizing homeopathy gives a statistically significant (p<0.001) advantage over control patients regarding survival time. In conclusion, bearing in mind all limitations, the results of this retrospective study suggest that patients with advanced stages of cancer might benefit from additional homeopathic treatment until a survival time of up to 12 months after diagnosis.