Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Cancer Patients

Dear Colleagues,

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. According to WHO, there are about 14 million new cases of cancer diagnosis each year across the world, and 8.2 million deaths in 2013 were cancer-related. Early detection and adequate evidence-based treatment can reduce and control cancer. Over half of all cancer patients seek or use Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) treatments to address cancer-related symptoms or to manage the side-effects caused by cancer or cancer treatment. CAM refers to all treatment and healing practices that are used in conjunction with or instead of standard Western treatments for cancer.

Despite their wide use, the safety and effectiveness of the CAM therapies have not been evaluated as intensely as conventional Western medicine. To address this gap, a small group of CAM treatments have gone through careful evaluation using scientific research methods.  It is important to disseminate the outcomes of such research. This Special Issue focuses on the utilization, safety, and effectiveness of Complementary and Alternative Medicine on cancer patients. We invite articles that implement CAM therapies in treating patients with cancer. There are no specifications or limitations on the type of cancer or the type of studies, as long as CAM methodologies are used.

Prof. Dr. Sivarama Prasad Vinjamury
Dr. Elizabeth Sommers
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Medicines is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.