Rapid responses are electronic comments to the editor. They enable our users
to debate issues raised in articles published on bmj.com. A rapid response
is first posted online. If you need the URL (web address) of an individual
response, simply click on the response headline and copy the URL from the
browser window. A proportion of responses will, after editing, be published
online and in the print journal as letters, which are indexed in PubMed.
Rapid responses are not indexed in PubMed and they are not journal articles.
The BMJ reserves the right to remove responses which are being
wilfully misrepresented as published articles or when it is brought to our
attention that a response spreads misinformation.
From March 2022, the word limit for rapid responses will be 600 words not
including references and author details. We will no longer post responses
that exceed this limit.
The word limit for letters selected from posted responses remains 300 words.
There exists no alternative treatment comparable to surgical excission, so those cancer patients probably had inoperable and/or metastatic tumours, assigned to intravenous pharmacological interventions.
It is well established that most old [1][4] or novel [2][3] chemotherapeutic agents prolong patients' survival for only 3 months.
So, cancer patients undergoing conventional cancer treatment with various combinations of chemotherapy drugs, can expect to live maximum 3 months more than those cancer patients who initially choose alternative medicine therapies.
In fact, this minor survival benefit will only be achieved if we admit that all alternative therapies are completely worthless.
References
[1] http://www.bmj.com/content/355/bmj.i5792
[2] http://www.bmj.com/content/356/bmj.j30
[3] http://www.bmj.com/content/357/bmj.j2129
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15630849
Re: Cancer patients who opt for alternative treatment at greater risk of death, study finds
There exists no alternative treatment comparable to surgical excission, so those cancer patients probably had inoperable and/or metastatic tumours, assigned to intravenous pharmacological interventions.
It is well established that most old [1][4] or novel [2][3] chemotherapeutic agents prolong patients' survival for only 3 months.
So, cancer patients undergoing conventional cancer treatment with various combinations of chemotherapy drugs, can expect to live maximum 3 months more than those cancer patients who initially choose alternative medicine therapies.
In fact, this minor survival benefit will only be achieved if we admit that all alternative therapies are completely worthless.
References
[1] http://www.bmj.com/content/355/bmj.i5792
[2] http://www.bmj.com/content/356/bmj.j30
[3] http://www.bmj.com/content/357/bmj.j2129
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15630849
Competing interests: No competing interests