Society for Integrative Oncology

August 24, 2018

Follow-up: Action on Erroneous JAMA Oncology “Complementary Medicine Kills” Article

The lousy and non-collegial editorial review process that allowed JAMA Oncology to publish the erroneous data-mining article from two Yale researchers that stimulated my recent Retraction Needed? JAMA Oncology’s Bum Science Suggests People Die Faster Using Complementary Medicine continues to make waves. Many of you were interested in the topic. Here are some brief updates.
August 15, 2018

An E-Dialogue with Yale Researchers Who Say “Complementary Medicine” Hastens Death

Multiple integrative oncologists question whether JAMA Oncology did the public a huge disservice in publishing the controversial data-mining, population-based research led by Skyler Johnson, MD  and James Yu, MD, MHS. The study concluded that use of complementary therapies leads to shorter life spans.  The New York Times was among the major media that posted the scare.
August 13, 2018

Interview: SIO President Lynda Balneaves on the JAMA Oncology Paper Linking Complementary Care with Early Death

A conventional oncology clinician or a typical patient deciding whether to step out of the box and try a “complementary” treatment got a strong message from multiple major media outlets the past three weeks. A New York Times subheading was representative: “People who used herbs, acupuncture and other complementary treatments tended to die earlier than those who didn’t.”
August 13, 2018

Retraction Needed? JAMA Oncology’s Bum Science Suggests People Die Faster Using Complementary Medicine

The media had a feeding frenzy when a data-mining report from Yale researchers published in JAMA Oncology suggested a causal relationship between use of “complementary medicine” and shortened life span among cancer patients. A New York Times subheading was representative: “People who used herbs, acupuncture and other complementary treatments tended to die earlier than those who didn’t.”