Alternative and Complementary Therapies for Cancer: Integrative Approaches and Discovery of Conventional Drugs

Management of advanced cancers by modern therapies can be hampered by the unavailability of efficient drugs, which explains in part the high mortality rates seen in patients with advanced cancers. Alternative therapies, particularly those using formulations derived from herbal, marine and animal products, are rich sources of chemically diverse and complex molecules with the potential to discover novel drugs. Alternative and Complementary Therapies for Cancer is unique in the field, as it presents the progress and limitations of alternative therapies through an unusual interface of traditional and modern concepts assembled by recognized experts (from China, India, USA, Canada, and Europe) in medical oncology, alternative medicine, cancer pharmacology and medicinal chemistry. Current developments from clinical and regulatory perspectives are presented, areas of controversy and potential integration of alternative and complementary therapies are highlighted, and future perspectives for the discovery of herbal constituents that may complement anticancer drugs are discussed.