Abstract
Integrative Cancer Therapies is pleased to announce that its Journal Impact Factor, released in June 2013, has risen to 2.354. We would like to thank our authors, who have contributed excellent articles that support this advance; our reviewers, whose contributions to the quality of the journal are so significant; our Advisory Board and Editorial Boards; and our readers, whose recognition of the articles in ICT plays a critical part in the evolution of a journal’s Impact Factor. Our Impact Factor scores have continually increased since we were first scored in the Institute for Scientific Information’s Journal Citation Reports. We suspect, though, that a major dynamic behind these increases is the ever-increasing interest in the field of integrative oncology worldwide. This is becoming obvious in the increasing volume of submissions that we process at ICT’s editorial offices, as well as in the rising number of integrative cancer clinics and clinicians. This increasing interest is certainly a trend we hope and expect to see continue, in pursuing the goal of improving the outcomes and experiences of cancer patients globally.
Our lead article for this issue reviews the major dietary supplements of interest to cancer patients. This article is written by members of the Clinical Practice Committee of the Society for Integrative Oncology. The Society is an international organization that exists to advance evidence-based integrative health care for cancer patients. Dr Moshe Frenkel led a select group of committee members in writing brief survey reviews of the 10 supplements felt to have the best suggestion of benefit in cancer. This article will form the basis of a seminar session at the Society’s October 2013 Annual Meeting. In preparation for the seminar session, our publisher, Sage Publications, has granted 30 days of open access to the article in advance of the meeting.
The Best Case Series Program of the United States National Cancer Institute (NCI) has been discussed in this journal in several previous articles. A new article on the program appears in this issue, authored by Dr Olawadamilola Olaku and staff members at the NCI’s Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine. This article includes cancer cases submitted by practitioners of ayurvedic and homeopathic medicine in India. One of the particularly useful aspects of the article is its discussion of the challenges of doing these retrospective case studies, especially in the setting of a country in which adequate radiological and pathological reports are difficult for alternative medicine practitioners to obtain.
Dr Chandylen Nightingale and colleagues at the University of Florida have contributed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized studies on the effects of music therapy in cancer patients. A particular focus of this analysis was the control of methodological rigor of the research articles that were assessed, leading to some challenges to the results of a previous meta-analysis in this area.
Dr Virginia Henderson and colleagues have performed a randomized trial of mindfulness-based stress reduction for breast cancer patients going through radiotherapy. Quality of life and psychosocial coping were the main outcomes, but the authors also assess several other variables related to psychosocial assessment. This study used both a usual care group and a nutrition education program as control groups, adding to the strength of the study by accounting for the effects of time and attention.
Dr Ai-Guang Zhao and colleagues report on a study of a traditional Chinese medicine formula conducted in Shanghai. This study prospectively compared patients given the formula during their cancer treatment with those who did not receive it, using the statistical methods of epidemiological studies to observe differences in survival between the 2 groups.
Dr Prue Cormie and colleagues from Perth, Australia, examine the important question of whether resistance exercise (such as lifting weights) has adverse impacts on breast cancer patients who have lymphedema. Increasingly, exercise is proving to be of great benefit to cancer patients, but issues of safety need our attention, especially with conditions such as lymphedema. We are pleased to note that the resistance exercises used in this study did not adversely affect the participating patients.
Dr A. R. Khuda-Bukhsh and colleagues at the University of Kalyani examine whether the antidiabetic herb Gymnema sylvestre might have anticancer effects. This topic is especially intriguing now that metformin is beginning to show more and more usefulness in clinical cancer treatment. Multiple laboratory assessments were used to assess its anticancer properties, and several anti-apoptotic mechanisms have been demonstrated in melanoma cells.
Dr Sensuke Konno and colleagues at New York Medical College examined the potential of a combination of maitake mushroom and vitamin C in cytotoxicity to renal cell carcinoma cell culture. It is interesting to note that the high concentrations in which vitamin C was applied in this study are well within the range of blood levels that could be achieved using intravenous vitamin C.
Integrative Cancer Therapies would like to begin a Clinical Corner section featuring short clinical pearls, insights, hot topics, educational reviews, and case reviews highlighting widely used alternative cancer therapies that are of substantial interest to cancer patients. We are considering exploring therapies such as newly discovered natural products with case study support, intravenous vitamin C, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, detoxification therapies, insulin potentiation therapy, and other similar methods. If you are interested in producing an educational review in one of these areas, please contact Dr Charlotte Gyllenhaal, Managing Editor, at our editorial office.