Abstract
Urinary bladder cancer (UBC) is one of the most common cancers, with 1 out of every 26 men and 1 out of every 80 women worldwide developing the disease during their lifetime. Moreover, it is a disease that predominantly affects the elderly and is becoming a major health problem as the elderly population continues to rapidly increase. In spite of the rapid development of medical science, the 5-year survival rate has remained around 75% since the 1990s, and the FDA has approved no new drugs for UBC over the last 10 years. In addition, most patients experience frequent recurrence and poor quality of life after diagnosis. Therefore, in order to solve unmet needs by alternative methods, we present our clinical cases of UBC where we observed outstanding results including regression and recurrence prevention exclusively through Traditional Korean Medicine such as (1) herbal therapy, (2) acupuncture, (3) pharmacopuncture and needle-embedding therapy, (4) moxibustion, and (5) cupping therapy. From our experience, it appears that multimodal strategies for synergistic efficiency are more effective than single Korean Medicine treatment. We hope this will encourage investigation of the efficacy of Korean Medicine treatment in clinical trials for UBC patients.
Highlights
Urinary bladder cancer (UBC) is a common disease with more than 12 million new cases annually worldwide, which ranks ninth in worldwide cancer incidence [1]
From our own clinical experiences from general practice with Korean Medicine (KM), we suggest here that KM could be beneficial in achieving those goals
In China, clinical practice guidelines on various cancers including UBC were recently published for the first time based on the integration of western medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) [7]
Summary
Urinary bladder cancer (UBC) is a common disease with more than 12 million new cases annually worldwide, which ranks ninth in worldwide cancer incidence [1]. Surgical resection of the tumor has been the best treatment, but about 70% of patients experience subsequent recurrence, often in different locations from the initial tumor [4]. The remission of UBC without surgical resection and the prolongation of the relapse period are goals in the treatment of UBC. In China, clinical practice guidelines on various cancers including UBC were recently published for the first time based on the integration of western medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) [7]. The use of TCM without western medicine is only offered to support patients who fail chemotherapy treatment or are in a state too poor to receive western treatment. The spectrum of KM is broader than that of TCM and could be a potential option for curative treatments, for example, in patients awaiting surgical resection. We introduce the multimodal treatments of KM and several outstanding UBC cases
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