This proposal is to collect preliminary information with the goal of conducting a study on the efficacy of the macrobiotic approach to the management of cancer. The project establishes collaborative ties between researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Boston University, Dana- Farber Cancer Institute, and practitioners at the Kushi Foundation, recognized as one of the foremost centers for macrobiotics education in the world. Consultants with expertise in cancer epidemiology, clinical nutrition, and clinical oncology are included as part of the research team, further strengthening the collaboration between mainstream researchers and alternative practitioners at the Kushi Foundation. The objectives are two-fold. First, to establish data collection procedures at the Kushi Foundation offices and the office of Michio Kushi to ensure the prospective collection of data. This will allow evaluation of the clinical course of these clients and the contributions from macrobiotics. The successful implementation of these data collection procedures will be an indication of the willingness and capabilities of the Kushi Foundation to institute such proceedings.Second, to support efforts to establish a """"""""best case"""""""" series to provide initial suggestive improvement with macrobiotics that can be verified by independent review. """"""""Best case"""""""" documentation will follow the guidelines of the National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Treatment, for the identification of potential best cases, and for determining the type of documentation necessary. Among other items, such documentation will include confirmation of diagnosis by pathology reports via microscopic slides of tissue, evidence of partial or complete remission of tumor documented by means such as X-rays or CT scans, and sole use of the macrobiotic approach during the period under evaluation. While these efforts will not provide definitive information regarding the efficacy or lack thereof in the macrobiotic approach to cancer, they should provide a basis for going forth with future Phase II and III clinical trials for the formal evaluation of the efficacy of the macrobiotic approach to cancer.
| Kushi, L H; Cunningham, J E; Hebert, J R et al. (2001) The macrobiotic diet in cancer. J Nutr 131:3056S-64S |
