Clínica 0-19: False hope in Monterrey for brain cancer patients (part 4)
Last week, Annabelle Potts, a girl with the deadly brain cancer DIPG, passed away. She had made the news in Australia and worldwide because she had been treated at Clínica 0-19 in Monterrey, Mexico, where Drs. Alberto Garcia and Alberto Siller treat DIPG patients with a secret unproven mix of intra-arterial chemotherapy injected directly into the arteries feeding the brainstem, all while...
Two integrative oncologists delude themselves that their specialty is science-based
Integrative oncology "integrates" quackery with oncology. Its practitioners, however, frequently delude themselves that their specialty is science-based. A recent review article by two integrative oncologists from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center expresses that delusion perfectly.
Crowdfunding: The fuel for cancer quackery (part 2)
In September, The Good Thinking Society released a study estimating the scope of crowdfunding for cancer quackery in the UK. Now, Jeremy Snyder and Tim Caulfield have done the same for the US, specifically for homeopathy for cancer. The results are alarming. Truly, crowdfunding is the fuel for cancer quackery. But will GoFundMe and other crowdfunding sites clean up their acts?
Science-Based Medicine in the New Year
As 2018 ends, the managing editor of Science-Based Medicine comments on the future of SBM.
Functional medicine: Reams of useless tests in one hand, a huge invoice in the other
"Functional medicine" preaches the "biochemical individuality" of each patient, which is why one of its key features is that its practitioners order reams of useless lab tests and then try to correct every abnormal level without considering (or even knowing) what these abnormalities mean, if anything. So they make up fake diagnoses and profit.
The stem cell hard sell: The Medical Board of California is forming a task force to determine how to regulate physicians offering stem cell therapies.
For-profit stem cell clinics selling unproven and downright quacky stem cell therapies have proliferated over the last several years, with federal and state law seemingly powerless to stop them. Recently, the FDA and FTC have shown signs of acting to crack down on them. Now, the Medical Board of California is forming a task force to determine how to regulate physicians offering...
Addressing the epidemic of antivaccine misinformation
Last week, Dr. Gorski was on vacation. However, part of his vacation involved spending a couple of hours with two of his heroes, meeting new pro-science advocates, and talking vaccine hesitancy and the antivaccine movement.
Be careful what you wish for…
A "naturopathic oncologist" on Twitter challenged me to examine the work of his two "naturopathic oncology" mentors. It did not go well...for him.
Are placebo effects genetically determined?
We frequently write about placebo effects here at SBM because understanding placebo effects is essential to understanding a lot of clinical trial science and, most relevant to the topics of this blog, how those promoting unscientific medicine misunderstand and misuse placebo effects to promote quackery. Last week, The NYT published an article asking if placebo effects are genetically determined. The evidence supporting...
More, please! A victim of cancer quack Robert O. Young wins a $105 million settlement
Robert O. Young is a cancer quack who claims to be a naturopath who promotes what he calls "pH Miracle Living." He claims that cancer is caused by excess acid and that the way to prevent and cure cancer is to "alkalinize the blood." Two and a half years ago, he was convicted of practicing medicine without a license. Last week, a...