All posts by David Gorski

Dr. Gorski's full information can be found here, along with information for patients. David H. Gorski, MD, PhD, FACS is a surgical oncologist at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute specializing in breast cancer surgery, where he also serves as the American College of Surgeons Committee on Cancer Liaison Physician as well as an Associate Professor of Surgery and member of the faculty of the Graduate Program in Cancer Biology at Wayne State University. If you are a potential patient and found this page through a Google search, please check out Dr. Gorski's biographical information, disclaimers regarding his writings, and notice to patients here.

George Carlin

The seven dirty words the CDC won’t be able to say any more (in budget requests)

On Saturday, The Washington Post broke a story that Trump administration will prohibit officials at the CDC from using a list of seven words or phrases — including "transgender," “evidence-based,” and “science-based” — in official documents being prepared for next year’s budget. As much as we like the title of our blog, this is not the sort of recognition we at SBM...

/ December 18, 2017
Kelly Brogan, MD

SXSW Wellness Expo and Goop: Accepting HIV/AIDS denialism and antivaccine pseudoscience by embracing Dr. Kelly Brogan

Dr. Kelly Brogan is doing well these days. Invited to be a headliner at Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop Summit and to be on the advisory board of the 2018 SXSW Wellness Expo, she's riding high. Unfortunately Goop and SXSW appear not to care about her being an HIV/AIDS denialist, antivaxer, and all around quack.

/ December 11, 2017
Aluminum in cells

Move over, Christopher Shaw, there’s a new antivaccine scientist in town

Move over, Christopher Shaw, there's a new antivaccine scientist dedicated to demonizing aluminum adjuvants in town. His name is Christopher Exley. He's got a fluorescence microscope, and he's not afraid to use it.

/ December 4, 2017
National Cancer Institute

The integration of mysticism and pseudoscience with oncology continues apace in NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers

Last week, I commented on the inability of the Society for Integrative Oncology to define what integrative oncology actually is. This week, I note the proliferation of the quackery of integrative oncology in places that should be rigorously science-based, namely NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers.

/ November 27, 2017
Under Constructxion

And the server migration continues apace…but where are the comments?

SBM is changing servers again. Unfortunately, that means that there are problems with the comments.

/ November 24, 2017
Definition

What is “integrative oncology”? Even the Society for Integrative Oncology doesn’t seem to know for sure

Last week, the Society for Integrative Oncology published an article attempting to define what "integrative oncology" is. The definition, when it isn't totally vague, ignores the pseudoscience at the heart of integrative oncology and medicine.

/ November 20, 2017

Why do some women refuse treatments for their breast cancer?

Adjuvant therapy after surgery, such as chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and radiation therapy, has contributed to a 39% decrease in breast cancer mortality since 1989. Unfortunately, a significant number of women decline evidence-based adjuvant therapy. A recent study suggests that distrust of the medical system plays a significant role in such refusal.

/ November 13, 2017

ORBITA: Another clinical trial demonstrating the need for sham controls in surgical trials

Last week, the results of ORBITA were published. This clinical trial tested coronary angioplasty and stenting versus optimal medical management in patients with single-vessel coronary artery disease. It was a resoundingly negative trial, meaning that adding stenting to drug management didn't result in detectable clinical improvement. What was distinctive about this trial is that it used a sham procedure (i.e., placebo) control,...

/ November 6, 2017

Torturing mice, data, and figures in the name of antivaccine pseudoscience

In September, antivaccine "researchers" Christopher Shaw and Lucija Tomljenovic published a study claiming to link aluminum adjuvants in vaccines to neuroinflammation and autism. Naturally, the antivaccine movement pointed to it as slam dunk evidence that vaccines cause autism. It's not. In fact, not only is it bad science, but it might well be fraudulent.

/ October 30, 2017

UC-Irvine, integrative medicine, and the delusion of being “science-based”

Last month, a billionaire couple, Susan and Henry Samueli, announced a $200 million gift to UC-Irvine to found the Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, which will be devoted to integrative medicine and studying "unconventional" treatments. Its founders promise that it will be rigorously science-based in articles in a large, glossy magazine. There are many reasons for doubts about this...

/ October 23, 2017