The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the United States has increased dramatically in the past 10 years. As with the general population, patients with cancer typically use CAM-based modalities in combination with their conventional cancer treatments. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is one of the most ancient alternative medical systems and is being practiced throughout the world today. TCM has been practiced in China as routine therapy for more than 5000 years and is rapidly gaining popularity in western countries. A significant component of TCM is the use of herbal- and animal-based products, from which some important chemotherapy agents have been derived. Other aspects of TCM modalities include acupuncture and energy-based treatments. As researchers begin to examine the scientific bases of many non-conventional biologically-based therapies in a rigorous and controlled manner, some will be found to have clinical benefit. The proposed planning grant is the first step to develop an international center for evaluation of TCM in cancer. This initial planning phase will allow examination and strengthening of the research infrastructure at Cancer Hospital, Fundan University (CHFU), Shanghai, China, one of the top cancer centers in China and will promote an educational exchange between CHFU and The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC). We propose to establish a partnership and cross-cultural exchange through which investigators at MDACC and CHFU will collaborate to study TCM in appropriate clinical and laboratory environments. In order to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the international collaborative team, we will develop three separate but overlapping areas of research during the period of this planning grant. We will move each area of research forward in parallel to determine how best to develop a fully functional and productive international collaborative team. The three collaborative research programs that will be developed include: evaluating herbal/natural product treatments that target disease outcomes and treatment- and disease-related symptoms; determining the effects of acupuncture on specific clinical symptoms in patients with cancer; and examining the biobehavioral effects of qigong and other mind/body-based interventions in patients with cancer. ? ? ?
