Skip to main content
  • 286 Accesses

Abstract

Prevention is the act of stopping something from happening. In healthcare, it entails measures that stop disease from occurring. Many proponents of SCAM are convinced that SCAM has an important role to play in cancer prevention. This is easily demonstrated by even just glancing at the many books on the subject.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 29.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 37.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Never-Fear-Cancer-Again-Revolutionary/dp/075731550X/.

  2. 2.

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cancer-Prevention-Homeopathy-Schuessler-homeopathic-ebook/dp/B07DR1K5HZ/.

  3. 3.

    https://yestolife.org.uk/event/your-life-and-cancer-2020-1/.

  4. 4.

    George ES, Sood S, Broughton A, Cogan G, Hickey M, Chan WS, Sudan S, Nicoll AJ. The Association between Diet and Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2021 Jan 8;13(1):E172. http://doi.org/10.3390/nu13010172. PMID: 33430001.

  5. 5.

    Huang J, Yue N, Shi N, Wang Q, Cui T, Ying H, Wang Z, Leng J, Sui Z, Xu Y, Wei B, Jin H. Influencing factors of lung cancer in nonsmoking women: systematic review and meta-analysis. J Public Health (Oxf). 2021 Jan 12:fdaa254. http://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdaa254. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33429425.

  6. 6.

    Chang JT, Anic GM, Rostron BL, Tanwar M, Chang CM. Cigarette Smoking Reduction and Health Risks: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nicotine Tob Res. 2020 Aug 17:ntaa156. http://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntaa156. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32803250.

  7. 7.

    https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-030-15935-1_9.

  8. 8.

    Flower G, Fritz H, Balneaves LG, et al. Flax and Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review. Integr Cancer Ther. 2014;13(3):181–192. http://doi.org/10.1177/1534735413502076.

  9. 9.

    Pittler MH, Ernst E. Clinical effectiveness of garlic (Allium sativum). Mol Nutr Food Res. 2007 Nov;51(11):1382–5. http://doi.org/10.1002/mnfr.200700073. PMID: 17918163.

  10. 10.

    Kaschula CH, Tuveri R, Ngarande E, Dzobo K, Barnett C, Kusza DA, Graham LM, Katz AA, Rafudeen MS, Parker MI, Hunter R, Schäfer G. The garlic compound ajoene covalently binds vimentin, disrupts the vimentin network and exerts anti-metastatic activity in cancer cells. BMC Cancer. 2019 Mar 20;19(1):248. http://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-019-5388-8. PMID: 30894168; PMCID: PMC6425727.

  11. 11.

    Ansary J, Forbes-Hernández TY, Gil E, et al. Potential Health Benefit of Garlic Based on Human Intervention Studies: A Brief Overview. Antioxidants (Basel). 2020;9(7):619. Published 2020 Jul 15. http://doi.org/10.3390/antiox9070619.

  12. 12.

    Guo Y, Li ZX, Zhang JY, et al. Association Between Lifestyle Factors, Vitamin and Garlic Supplementation, and Gastric Cancer Outcomes: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(6):e206628. Published 2020 Jun 1. http://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.6628.

  13. 13.

    Liu X, Baecker A, Wu M, Zhou JY, Yang J, Han RQ, Wang PH, Liu AM, Gu X, Zhang XF, Wang XS, Su M, Hu X, Sun Z, Li G, Jin ZY, Jung SY, Mu L, He N, Lu QY, Li L, Zhao JK, Zhang ZF. Raw Garlic Consumption and Risk of Liver Cancer: A Population-Based Case–Control Study in Eastern China. Nutrients. 2019 Aug 31;11(9):2038. http://doi.org/10.3390/nu11092038. PMID: 31480423; PMCID: PMC6769938.

  14. 14.

    Ngo SN, Williams DB, Cobiac L, Head RJ. Does garlic reduce risk of colorectal cancer? A systematic review. J Nutr. 2007 Oct;137(10):2264–9. http://doi.org/10.1093/jn/137.10.2264. PMID: 17885009.

  15. 15.

    Zhou X, Qian H, Zhang D, Zeng L. Garlic intake and the risk of colorectal cancer: A meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2020;99(1):e18575. http://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000018575.

  16. 16.

    Kantor ED, Lampe JW, Peters U, Shen DD, Vaughan TL, White E. Use of glucosamine and chondroitin supplements and risk of colorectal cancer. Cancer Causes Control. 2013;24(6):1137–1146. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-013-0192-2.

  17. 17.

    Ibáñez-Sanz G, Díez-Villanueva A, Vilorio-Marqués L, et al. Possible role of chondroitin sulphate and glucosamine for primary prevention of colorectal cancer. Results from the MCC-Spain study. Sci Rep. 2018;8(1):2040. Published 2018 Feb 1. http://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-20349-6.

  18. 18.

    Li ZH, Gao X, Chung VC, et al. Associations of regular glucosamine use with all-cause and cause-specific mortality: a large prospective cohort study. Ann Rheum Dis. 2020;79(6):829–836. http://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-217176.

  19. 19.

    Aggarwal V, Tuli HS, Tania M, Srivastava S, Ritzer EE, Pandey A, Aggarwal D, Barwal TS, Jain A, Kaur G, Sak K, Varol M, Bishayee A. Molecular mechanisms of action of epigallocatechin gallate in cancer: Recent trends and advancement. Semin Cancer Biol. 2020 May 24:S1044-579X(20)30107-3. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.semcancer.2020.05.011. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32461153.

  20. 20.

    Dekant W, Fujii K, Shibata E, Morita O, Shimotoyodome A. Safety assessment of green tea based beverages and dried green tea extracts as nutritional supplements. Toxicol Lett. 2017 Aug 5;277:104–108. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxlet.2017.06.008. Epub 2017 Jun 24. PMID: 28655517.

  21. 21.

    Filippini T, Malavolti M, Borrelli F, et al. Green tea (Camellia sinensis) for the prevention of cancer. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020;3(3):CD005004. Published 2020 Mar 2. http://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD005004.pub3.

  22. 22.

    Rowles JL 3rd, Ranard KM, Smith JW, An R, Erdman JW Jr. Increased dietary and circulating lycopene are associated with reduced prostate cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2017 Dec;20(4):361–377. http://doi.org/10.1038/pcan.2017.25. Epub 2017 Apr 25. PMID: 28440323.

  23. 23.

    Posadzki P, Lee MS, Onakpoya I, Lee HW, Ko BS, Ernst E. Dietary supplements and prostate cancer: a systematic review of double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised clinical trials. Maturitas. 2013 Jun;75(2):125–30. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2013.03.006. Epub 2013 Apr 6. PMID: 23567264.

  24. 24.

    Mishra SI, Dickerson V, Najm W. Phytoestrogens and breast cancer prevention: what is the evidence? Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2003;188(5 Suppl):S66–S70. http://doi.org/10.1067/mob.2003.405.

  25. 25.

    Ding S, Hu C, Fang J, Liu G. The Protective Role of Probiotics against Colorectal Cancer. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2020 Dec 9;2020:8884583. http://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8884583. PMID: 33488940; PMCID: PMC7803265.

  26. 26.

    Śliżewska K, Markowiak-Kopeć P, Śliżewska W. The Role of Probiotics in Cancer Prevention. Cancers (Basel). 2020 Dec 23;13(1):20. http://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13010020. PMID: 33374549; PMCID: PMC7793079.

  27. 27.

    Zhu X, Pan D, Wang N, Wang S, Sun G. Relationship Between Selenium in Human Tissues and Breast Cancer: a Meta-analysis Based on Case–Control Studies. Biol Trace Elem Res. 2021 Jan 8. http://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-021-02574-9. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33420696.

  28. 28.

    Stolwijk JM, Garje R, Sieren JC, Buettner GR, Zakharia Y. Understanding the Redox Biology of Selenium in the Search of Targeted Cancer Therapies. Antioxidants (Basel). 2020 May 13;9(5):420. http://doi.org/10.3390/antiox9050420. PMID: 32414091; PMCID: PMC7278812.

  29. 29.

    Vinceti M, Filippini T, Del Giovane C, Dennert G, Zwahlen M, Brinkman M, Zeegers MP, Horneber M, D’Amico R, Crespi CM. Selenium for preventing cancer. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 Jan 29;1(1):CD005195. http://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD005195.pub4. PMID: 29376219; PMCID: PMC6491296.

  30. 30.

    Fortmann SP, Burda BU, Senger CA, Lin JS, Beil TL, O’Connor E, Whitlock EP. Vitamin, Mineral, and Multivitamin Supplements for the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer: A Systematic Evidence Review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force [Internet]. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2013 Nov. Report No.: 14-05199-EF-1. PMID: 24308073.

  31. 31.

    Molina-Montes E, Salamanca-Fernández E, Garcia-Villanova B, Sánchez MJ. The Impact of Plant-Based Dietary Patterns on Cancer-Related Outcomes: A Rapid Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients. 2020;12(7):2010. Published 2020 Jul 6. http://doi.org/10.3390/nu12072010.

  32. 32.

    Schwingshackl L, Boeing H, Stelmach-Mardas M, Gottschald M, Dietrich S, Hoffmann G, Chaimani A. Dietary Supplements and Risk of Cause-Specific Death, Cardiovascular Disease, and Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Primary Prevention Trials. Adv Nutr. 2017 Jan 17;8(1):27–39. http://doi.org/10.3945/an.116.013516. PMID: 28096125; PMCID: PMC5227980.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Edzard Ernst .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Ernst, E. (2021). Prevention. In: So-Called Alternative Medicine (SCAM) for Cancer. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74158-7_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics