DEVELOPMENT OF A DATABASE ON UNPROVED CANCER TREATMENTS

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO ESTABLISH A METHOD BY WHICH CANCER TREATMENTS NOT BEING INVESTIGATED THROUGH CONVENTIONAL CHANNELS CAN BE IDENTIFIED, ORGANIZED INTO A DATABASE, AND DISSEMINATED TO INTERESTED PARTIES. ORGANIZING THIS INFORMATION WILL PROVIDE A MEANS FOR IDENTIFYING UNSCRUPULOUS METHODS AND ALLOW THOSE TREATMENTS WITH PROMISE TO BE BROUGHT TO CLINICAL TRIALS. AN IMMEDIATE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO CLASSIFY TREATMENTS IDENTIFIED FROM REPORTS IN THE OPEN LITERATURE, INCLUDING HISTORICAL REPORTS OF FOLK REMEDIES STILL IN USE AND CITATIONS IN POPULAR LITERATURE BEING COMMERCIALLY EXPLOITED. IN DOING SO, THE MECHANISM FOR DATA COLLECTION AND CLASSIFICATION CAN BE EXTABLISHED, LEADING TO A LONG-TERM GOAL OF CONTINUOUS MONITORING AND UPDATING TO INCLUDE NEW DATA WITHIN THE ESTABLISHED HIERARCHY. IN THIS WAY, A SYSTEM FOR INFORMATION RELATED TO NEW MEDTHODS OF COMBATTING CANCER CAN BE SET UP. THE METHODOLOGY TO BE EMPLOYED CONSISTS OF (1) A COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY OF THE OPEN LITERATURE DURING WHICH SEARCH PARAMETERS FOR CONTINUED SURVEILLANCE WILL BE DEVELOPED; (2) AN ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTANT MATERIAL FOUND PERTINENT FROM WHICH THE PARAMETERS FOR ANALYSIS WILL BE ESTABLISHED; (3) THE GENERATION OF A DATABASE CATEGORIZING METHODS ACCORDING TO CRITERIA SUCH AS SOURCE, TYPE OF TREATMENT, AND DEGREE OF SUCCESS; AND (4) SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A DISTRIBUTION NETWORK.