Critical Appraisal of Approved Chemotherapy Regimens for Advanced Colon Cancer in Ontario, Canada by Akbar Khan, MD, IMD, DHS, FAAO
Abstract Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is a term often used to describe allopathic medical therapies. Best evidence for a therapy was felt to be obtained by randomized clinical trials which remain the “gold standard” today. Many well-established chemotherapy regimens for metastatic colon cancer claim to be evidence-based, and are government approved and funded in Ontario, Canada. Conversely, natural therapies, off-label non-toxic therapies, and metabolic therapies for cancer remain unproven due to lack of large-scale clinical trials. Many such therapies are backed by lower levels of evidence that suggests they prolong life or enhance quality of life, yet they are not considered evidence-based by the oncology community. A careful analysis of the actual evidence underlying approved regimens for metastatic colorectal cancer raises important questions about the application of...