Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (OCCAM)
The Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (OCCAM) serves as a key resource for information and research on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) specifically related to cancer care. Established in 1998 under the National Cancer Institute (NCI), OCCAM aims to enhance the quality of cancer treatment through evidence-based research and coordination of CAM practices. The office provides valuable information for healthcare professionals, researchers, and cancer patients, focusing on the management of cancer symptoms and treatment side effects.
OCCAM oversees initiatives like the Best Case Series program, which evaluates the effectiveness of CAM therapies through rigorous research methods. This program allows CAM practitioners to submit data on patients treated for cancer, facilitating further NIH funding for promising therapies. Since its inception, OCCAM has played a crucial role in fostering collaboration between cancer researchers and CAM providers, promoting high-quality research and studies in the field. The office also maintains extensive resources on various CAM therapies, including insights into traditional medicine practices from diverse cultures.
Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (OCCAM)
DEFINITION: The consumer hub for US government information on complementary and alternative medicine for persons with cancer and those who treat them.
- DATE: Founded in 1998
Mission and Objectives
The Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (OCCAM) works to improve the quality of cancer care through the support and advancement of research in evidence-based complementary and alternative medical (CAM) practices. OCCAM also provides quality information about CAM for healthcare professionals, researchers, and the public. The focus of the office is to coordinate CAM activities in diagnosing, preventing, and treating cancer through managing cancer-related symptoms and cancer treatment side effects. OCCAM’s focus on cancer distinguishes it from the related National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
History
Before establishing a separate division for CAM, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the NIH was interested in using CAM to treat cancer. In the 1940s, the NCI looked at studies to treat cancer with various CAM therapies. One treatment alternative reviewed by the NCI was the chemical compound laetrile, a purified amygdalin found in the pits of fruits and nuts, lima beans, sorghum, and clover. The Gerson regimen, named for German physician Max Gerson, also was considered. This regimen used a diet of raw and fresh organic fruits, vegetables, and juices as well as coffee enemas, supplements, and detoxification to help the body heal itself of cancer. The NCI also examined the Hoxley treatment, which employed herbs and salves to treat cancer; the NCI found no evidence that this treatment was effective.
NCI’s interest in CAM for cancer treatment continued during the next several decades, leading to the development of the Best Case Series in 1991. This program provided a way for CAM practitioners to use scientific approaches with rigorous research to evaluate these therapies in the treatment of cancer.
In 1998, OCCAM was founded under the leadership of Jeffrey D. White, a board-certified cancer oncologist and researcher who joined the NCI in 1990. The Best Case Series was moved from the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program at NCI to the then-new OCCAM. The following year, the CAM Cancer Research Interest Group and Invited Speaker Series were established at OCCAM.
In 2006, OCCAM published the first NCI annual report on CAM. The following year, the office moved to the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis at the NCI. In 2008, OCCAM published “Survey of Cancer Researchers Regarding Complementary and Alternative Medicine” in the Journal of the Society of Integrative Oncology. That same year, the NCI provided more than $121 million for CAM research in more than four hundred projects.
OCCAM activities were minimal through the 2010s and early 2020s. The organization's monthly lecture series ended in 2011. However, in 2020, OCCAM offered a lecture series called "Traditional Medicines for COVID-19 and Cancer: Effects on Immunity and Inflammation."
Best Case Series Program
One notable program coordinated through OCCAM is the NCI Best Case Series (BCS) program. Established in 1991, BCS evaluates CAM research data through independent reviews of records and review of the test results of persons with cancer who were treated with CAM therapies. With valid data supporting CAM cancer therapies, the NIH can then determine funding for further research in CAM effectiveness.
CAM practitioners are encouraged to submit their research on persons treated for tumor regression to the BCS program. To be accepted for review, the practitioner must meet specific criteria, including having a patient with a definitive diagnosis of cancer, having detailed records of cancer response, and having a chronicled treatment history.
As the twenty-first century progressed, OCCAM remained an important tool in the CAM and cancer-fighting communities. OCCAM remained committed to engaging collaboration between cancer researchers and CAM providers. It remained a source of vital funding for studies on CAM and cancer and promoted high-quality and meaningful research and studies. OCCAM’s website provides extensive libraries of CAM therapies and extracts, as well as information about Chinese and Indian medicine. The OCCAM continued to sponsor studies, meetings, and conferences as well.
Bibliography
“About OCCAM About Us.” Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (OCCAM), 11 July 2016, cam.cancer.gov/about‗us/about‗occam.htm. Accessed 20 Sept. 2024.
Cassileth, B. “Gerson Regimen.” Oncology (Williston Park), vol. 24, no. 2, 2010. p. 201.
“Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Patients.” National Cancer Institute, www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/patient. Accessed 20 Sept. 2024.
Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (OCCAM), cam.cancer.gov. Accessed 20 Sept. 2024.
Rees, Alan M., ed. The Complementary and Alternative Medicine Information Source Book. Phoenix, Oryx Press, 2001.
Rosenbaum, Earnest H., and Isadora Rosenbaum. Everyone’s Guide to Cancer Supportive Care: A Comprehensive Handbook for Patients and Their Families. 4th ed. Kansas City, Andrews McMeel, 2005.
Synovitz, Linda B., and Karl L. Larson. Consumer Health and Integrative Medicine: Holistic View of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Practices. 2nd ed., Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2020.
Smith, W. B., et al. “Survey of Cancer Researchers Regarding Complementary and Alternative Medicine.” Journal of the Society of Integrative Oncology, vol. 6, no. 1, 2008, pp. 2-12.