Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Short description: Medical research organization in the United States

Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the NIHAgency overview

Formed| 1998; 26 years ago (1998)
Headquarters| Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.
Annual budget| $105 million (2011)
Agency executive|

* Jeffrey D. White, Director

Parent agency| National Cancer Institute
Website| OCCAM (archive)
This article is part of a series on

Alternative and pseudo‑medicine

General information

* Alternative medicine
* Alternative veterinary medicine
* Quackery (Health fraud)
* History of alternative medicine
* Rise of modern medicine
* Pseudoscience
* Antiscience
* Skepticism
* Skeptical movement
* National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
* Terminology of alternative medicine

Fringe medicine and science

* Acupressure
* Acupuncture
* Anthroposophic medicine
* Apitherapy
* Applied kinesiology
* Aromatherapy
* Auriculotherapy
* Bach flower remedies
* Bates method
* Biorhythm
* Black salve
* Bodywork
* Bonesetter
* Bowen technique
* Breathwork
* Camel urine
* Cow urine
* Cancer treatments
* Greek cancer cure
* Charcoal cleanse
* Chiropractic
* Chiropractic treatment techniques
* Vertebral subluxation
* Christian Science
* Chromotherapy
* Colon cleansing
* Coffee enema
* Colorpuncture
* Craniosacral therapy
* Crystal healing
* Cupping therapy
* Detoxification
* Foot baths
* Duesberg hypothesis
* Ear candling
* Energy medicine
* Esoteric energy
* Therapeutic touch
* Facilitated communication
* Feldenkrais Method
* Functional medicine
* Hair analysis
* Herbal medicine
* Holistic dentistry
* Hologram bracelet
* Homeopathy
* Biological terrain assessment
* Hypnotherapy
* Iridology
* Ionized jewelry
* Lightning Process
* Lymphotherapy
* Medical intuitive
* Mesmerism
* Magnet therapy
* Manual therapy
* Megavitamin therapy
* Mind–body interventions
* MMS
* Myofascial release
* NAET
* Naturopathy
* Oil pulling
* Orgone
* Orthomolecular medicine
* Orthopathy
* Osteomyology
* Osteopathy
* Parapsychology
* Phrenology
* Psychic surgery
* Psychodermatology
* Radionics
* Rapid prompting method
* RBOP
* Reiki
* Reflexology
* Rolfing
* Scientific racism
* ThetaHealing
* Thought Field Therapy
* Urine therapy
* Urophagia
* Vaginal steaming
* Vision therapy
* Vitalism
* Young blood transfusion
* Zero balancing

Conspiracy theories

* Anti-fluoridation/Water fluoridation movement
* Anti-vaccination
* Vaccines causing autism
* Big Pharma conspiracy theory
* GMO conspiracy theories
* HIV/AIDS denialism
* Discredited HIV/AIDS origins theories
* OPV AIDS hypothesis

Classifications

* Allopathic medicine
* Alternative medical systems
* Mind–body intervention
* Biologically-based therapy
* Manipulative methods
* Energy therapy

Traditional medicine

* African
* Muti
* South African
* Ayurveda
* Ayurvedic acupressure
* Dosha
* Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health
* Balneotherapy
* Brazilian
* Bush medicine
* Cambodian
* Chinese
* Blood stasis
* Chinese herbology
* Dit Da
* Gua sha
* Gill plate trade
* Meridian
* Moxibustion
* Pressure point
* Qi
* San Jiao
* Tui na
* Zang-fu
* Chumash
* Curandero
* Faith healing
* Iranian
* Jamu
* Kambo
* Japanese
* Korean
* Mien Shiang
* Mongolian
* Prophetic medicine
* Shamanism
* Shiatsu
* Siddha
* Sri Lankan
* Thai massage
* Tibetan
* Unani
* Vietnamese

Diagnoses

* Adrenal fatigue
* Aerotoxic syndrome
* Autistic enterocolitis
* Candida hypersensitivity
* Chronic Lyme disease
* Electromagnetic hypersensitivity
* Heavy legs
* Leaky gut syndrome
* Multiple chemical sensitivity
* Wilson's temperature syndrome
* Wind turbine syndrome

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The Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (OCCAM) is an office of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis. OCCAM was founded in 1998 and is responsible for NCI's research agenda in pseudoscientific complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), as it relates to cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and symptom management.[1] The OCCAM differs from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH, formerly NCCAM or National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) in that it is exclusively focused on cancer, while the NCCIH funds a much broader program of NIH research into CAM for all diseases and disorders.[2] It last produced an annual report in 2011 and spent $105 million on CAM research in 2011.[3][4]

## Contents

* 1 Organization
* 2 Research grant funding
* 3 May 2016 conference
* 4 Criticism
* 5 See also
* 6 References
* 7 External links

## Organization

OCCAM funds scientists are interested in researching CAM. Its stated mission is to improve the quality of care of cancer patients, as well as those at risk for cancer and those recovering from cancer treatment. It aims to achieve this by helping advance evidence-based medicine in CAM practice and research. OCCAM also tries to supply reliable information about the possible risks and benefits of alternative medicine to the health care community, scientists, and the general public.[5] OCCAM is organized into three main programs:

* The Research Development and Support Program analyzes the CAM research portfolio, to aid funding and policy decisions. It also advises researchers on how to prepare grant applications based on review committee comments.
* The goal of the Practice Assessment Program is to improve the quality of care of cancer patients by a rigorous scientific evaluation of cancer CAM interventions. The PAP also reviews case summary data from patients who use CAM therapies for the treatment of cancer through the NCI Best Case Series Program. This program tries to identify successful applications of CAM therapies with anti-cancer effects.
* The Communications and Outreach Program aims to acquire and develop high-quality information about cancer and CAM for NCI and for dissemination to the health care community, researchers, patients, and the general public. As of January 2018, the last public lecture communicated was in 2011,[6] the last annual report was published in 2011[3] and the last semiannual newsletter was produced in 2013.[7]

## Research grant funding

OCCAM does not conduct clinical or basic research but sponsors both types with grants. It coordinates NCI's CAM research activities and attempts to assist the growth of CAM research within the NCI. It attempts to integrate with other research in related areas (e.g. nutrition, natural products, and behavioral sciences). As of January 2019 there are no active clinical trials listed on the department's website.[8] The department's budget has grown from $20 million at its start in 1998.[9]

In FY 2011, the last year that an annual report was published, OCCAM supported approximately $105,341,737 million in CAM-related research in 382 projects covering topics such as acupuncture and vitamin C.[3] In 2009 and 2010 the NCI used about $6.5 million each year in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).[9][10]

Fiscal Year | NCI's CAM Expenditures | # Projects

|
|

2003 | $119,900,000 | ?
2004 | $128,671,113 | ?
2005 | $121,076,919 | 400
2006 | $123,076,167 | 461
2007 | $121,932,765 | 456
2008 | $121,264,507 | 444
2009 | $114,441,501+ | 429
2010 | $114,460,116+ | 406
2011 | $105,341,737 | 382
2012 - 2023 | Unknown | ?

[11][12][13][10][14][15]

## May 2016 conference

In May 2016, OCCAM held a two-day workshop on the state of CAM on Cancer treatments. The workshop identified many problems specific to CAM research for cancer treatment.[16]

## Criticism

A 2005 report in the Journal of Clinical Oncology analyzed the research portfolio of OCCAM and the grant applications it received and identified serious challenges in the design and performance of research into CAM therapies of cancer: notably the lack of standardized products or protocols for CAM therapy and the inherent difficulty in studying products with no known mode of action.[17]

In 2012, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a criticism that study after study had been funded by OCCAMS' sister organization, NCCAM, but these studies "failed to prove that complementary or alternative therapies are anything more than placebos".[18] The JAMA criticism pointed to large wasting of research money on testing scientifically implausible treatments, citing "NCCAM officials spending $406,000 to find that coffee enemas do not cure pancreatic cancer."[18] It was pointed out that negative results from testing were generally ignored by the public, that people continue to "believe what they want to believe, arguing that it does not matter what the data show: They know what works for them".[18] Continued increasing use of CAM products was also blamed on the lack of FDA ability to regulate alternative products, where negative studies do not result in FDA warnings or FDA-mandated changes on labeling, whereby few consumers are aware that many claims of many supplements were found not to be supported.[18]

In 2018, it was shown that cancer patients who choose alternative medicine over proven cancer treatments are more likely to die. Patients who choose herbs, homoeopathy or other alternative treatments are twice as likely to die of cancer.[19]

## See also

* National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
* Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council

## References

1. ↑ Richardson, Mary Ann; Jeffrey D. White (2000). "Complementary/Alternative Medicine and Cancer Research. A National Initiative". Cancer Practice 8 (1): 45–48. doi:10.1046/j.1523-5394.2000.81010.x. ISSN 1065-4704. PMID 10732539.
2. ↑ Katie Cottingham (2002). "Funding for Research on Complementary and Alternative Medical Approaches (NIH)". Science. http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/2002_08_02/noDOI.8477598065884474238.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Annual Report on CAM 2011. https://cam.cancer.gov/docs/annual_report/cam_annual_report_fy11.pdf. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
4. ↑ "NIH complementary and integrative health agency gets new name" (in EN). 22 July 2015. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-complementary-integrative-health-agency-gets-new-name.
5. ↑ Assouline, Sarit; Wilson H Miller (March 28, 2006). "High-dose vitamin C therapy: renewed hope or false promise?". Canadian Medical Association Journal 174 (7): 956–957. doi:10.1503/cmaj.060228. ISSN 1488-2329. PMID 16567756.
6. ↑ "Lectures". https://cam.cancer.gov/news_and_events/lectures.htm.
7. ↑ "Events". https://cam.cancer.gov/news_and_events/occam_newsletter.htm.
8. ↑ "Clinical Trials". https://cam.cancer.gov/research/clinical_trials.htm.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "2009 Annual Report". https://cam.cancer.gov/docs/annual_report/nci_cam_annual_report_fy09.pdf#search="annual report".
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "2010 Annual report". https://cam.cancer.gov/docs/annual_report/cam_annual_report_fy10.pdf#search="annual report".
11. ↑ "2007 Budget". https://cam.cancer.gov/docs/annual_report/CAMAnnualReportFY2007.pdf#search="2007".
12. ↑ "Why aren't there more trials studying CAM?". May 6, 2008. https://respectfulinsolence.com/2008/05/06/why-arent-there-more-trials-studying-the/.
13. ↑ "2008 Annual Report". https://cam.cancer.gov/docs/annual_report/fy2008_CAM_annual_report.pdf#search="2008".
14. ↑ "2005 Annual Report". http://cam.cancer.gov/attachments/CAMAnnualReportFY2005-508_final.pdf.
15. ↑ "2006 Annual Report". http://cam.cancer.gov/attachments/CAMAnnualReportFY2006-508.pdf.
16. ↑ Xi, Dan; Bao, Ting; Chen, Qi; Chen, Sushing; Cheng, Yung-chi; Cullen, Joseph; Frank, David A.; Friedberg, Jonathan W. et al. (2017). "State of the Science: Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine Therapeutics Research—NCI Strategic Workshop Highlights of Discussion Report". JNCI Monographs 2017 (52). doi:10.1093/jncimonographs/lgx003. PMID 29140484.
17. ↑ Buchanan, David R.; Jeffrey D. White; Ann M. O'Mara; Joseph W. Kelaghan; Wendy B. Smith; Lori M. Minasian (September 20, 2005). "Research-Design Issues in Cancer-Symptom-Management Trials Using Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Lessons From the National Cancer Institute Community Clinical Oncology Program Experience". J Clin Oncol 23 (27): 6682–6689. doi:10.1200/JCO.2005.10.728. PMID 16170176.
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Is taxpayer money well spent or wasted on alternative-medicine research?, Susan Perry, August 5, 2012, MinnPost, [1]
19. ↑ Fox, Maggie. "Cancer patients who use alternative medicine die sooner, study finds Complementary therapies may sound good, but they don't cure cancer.". https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna892841. Retrieved February 11, 2020.

## External links

* Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine
* Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis

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Pseudoscience

Terminology|

* Cargo cult science
* Charlatan
* Crank
* Fringe theory
* Fringe science
* Pseudoarchaeology
* Pseudohistory
* Junk science
* Paranormal
* Pathological science
* Quackery
* Snake oil
* Superseded scientific theory
* True-believer syndrome
* Voodoo Science

Topics
characterized as
pseudoscience|

* 2012 phenomenon
* Acupuncture
* Adrenal fatigue
* Alchemy
* Alternative medicine
* Ancient astronauts
* Anthroposophic medicine
* Applied kinesiology
* Aquatic ape hypothesis
* Astrology
* Bates method
* Biodynamic agriculture
* Bloodletting
* Body memory
* Catastrophism
* Chiropractic
* Chromotherapy
* Conspiracy theory
* 9/11 conspiracy theories
* Chemtrail conspiracy theory
* Climate change denial
* Moon landing conspiracy theories
* Conversion therapy
* Creation science
* Cryonics
* Cryptozoology
* Crystal healing
* Detoxification
* Colon cleansing
* Dianetics
* Doctrine of signatures
* Doktor Koster's Antigaspills
* Dowsing
* Ear candling
* Electromagnetic hypersensitivity
* Electronic voice phenomenon
* Eugenics
* Facilitated communication
* Feng shui
* Flat Earth theory
* Germ theory denialism
* Graphology
* HIV/AIDS denialism
* Hollow Earth theory
* Homeopathy
* Humorism
* Indigo children
* Intelligent design
* Japhetic theory
* Levitation
* Lunar effect
* Lysenkoism
* Magnet therapy
* Mediumship
* Naturopathy
* Nazi archaeology
* Nibiru cataclysm
* Numerology
* Orgone
* Palmistry
* Perpetual motion
* Phrenology
* Polygraph
* Primal therapy
* Pseudoarchaeology
* Pseudohistory
* Genocide denial
* Historical negationism
* Holocaust denial
* Pseudoscientific metrology
* Psychohistory
* Quantum mysticism
* Rapid prompting method
* Recovered-memory therapy
* Reiki
* Scientific racism
* Aryan race
* Melanin theory
* Trepanning
* Ufology
* Vertebral subluxation
* Voice stress analysis
* Water memory
* Cowpathy

Promoters of pseudoscience|

* Andrew Wakefield
* Deepak Chopra
* Gaia, Inc.
* Goop (company)
* Jenny McCarthy
* Mehmet Oz
* William Donald Kelley

Related topics|

* Bourgeois pseudoscience
* Demarcation problem
* Scientific method
* Suppressed research in the Soviet Union
* Traditional medicine

Resources|

* Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
* Cults of Unreason
* Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience
* Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science
* Quackwatch
* JREF
* The Psychology of the Occult
* The Ragged Edge of Science
* The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience
* Skeptical Inquirer
* The Skeptic's Dictionary

List of topics characterized as pseudoscience

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