The University Hospital Zurich is one of the largest and most important teaching hospitals in Europe. With its 43 departments and institutes, the hospital is renowned for its achievements in health care, research and teaching. The Institute for Complementary and Integrative Medicine has an outpatient clinic and offers various types of consultations for patients with cancer with a focus on acupuncture, phytotherapy and mind/body medicine.

The Department of Oncology and Hematology at the Klinikum Nuernberg, Germany, has since 1989 been running a study group entitled „AG Biologische Krebstherapie“ in order to investigate and assess the efficacy and safety of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the care of cancer patients.

Our unit is specifically devoted to clinical research in this area. It was established in 1993 following a substantial endowment from The Maurice Laing Foundation. Today it is an internationally recognised centre of excellence in the area of complementary medicine research.

The “Study Group for Complementary and Alternative Methods in Cancer” (SCAC)

Do mistletoe injections, nutritional supplements or shark cartilage really fight cancer? What are the risks and side-effects of complementary and alternative therapy methods? The Swiss “Study Group for Complementary and Alternative Methods in Cancer” is committed to studying these and other related questions.