Cancer continues to be a global cause of morbidity and mortality, with a rising incidence expected to reach more than 35 million new cases annually by the year 2050. In India, the load is increasing due to late diagnosis, toxicity of treatment, and economic burden. While contemporary oncology, supported by advances in molecular oncology, has improved survival through chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and targeted/precision therapies, formidable challenges persist, including drug resistance, systemic toxicity, and compromised quality of life (QoL). Complementary and integrative medicine, especially Ayurveda, provides a biopsychosocial, patient-centric model that addresses both physical and psychosocial aspects of cancer treatment. Ayurvedic treatments such as Rasayana Chikitsa, Panchakarma, and phytotherapies (e.g., curcumin, boswellic acids, Withania somnifera , etc.) have shown immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, and QoL-improving effects in new clinical and observational studies. Molecular oncology gives mechanistic insights into cancer at the genomic and epigenomic levels, whereas Ayurveda offers a systems-biology approach with an emphasis on personalized, constitution-based therapy (Prakriti). Integrative research merging these paradigms has the potential to maximize therapeutic benefit, reduce treatment-related side effects, and improve survivorship. Translating molecular oncology into Ayurveda necessitates extensive randomized controlled trials, formulation standardization, strong regulatory systems, and transdisciplinary partnerships. Such evidence-based confluence can drive oncology toward a more holistic, patient-orientated paradigm, that not only cures the tumor but heals the individual.
Sharma et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
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