This would require a randomized clinical trial, which has not occurred in the year history of black salve use. Substituting highly effective conventional therapies with an unproven alternative such as black salve should not occur outside the framework of a clinical trial.
Regulators have been trying to protect consumers from black salve by policing the claims vendors post on their websites [ ] and by making it illegal to import or sell black salve [ ]. A number of loopholes however exist in the regulatory framework. Vendors may relocate their operations to countries with reduced regulatory controls [ 57 ], black salve ingredients can be legally imported from which patients can manufacture their own salve [ ], and black salve veterinary products can be imported and used by humans [ ].
While regulation is a valuable pillar in harm prevention, it is failing to limit escharotic salve use to treat skin cancer. Skin cancer is the most common malignancy in the western world.
With growing demand and an absence of clinical evidence assessing the benefits and risks of black salve, patients will continue experimenting. Observational studies and clinical trials offer a mechanism for assessing the efficacy of black salve; they may also facilitate harm minimisation by discouraging black salve use for melanomas, high risk nonmelanoma skin cancers, and obviously benign lesions. Black salve is not a natural therapy. It contains significant concentrations of synthetic chemicals.
Black salve does not appear to possess tumour specificity with in vitro and in vivo evidence indicating normal cell toxicity. Black salve does appear to cure some skin cancers, although the cure rate for this therapy is currently unknown. The use of black salve should be restricted to clinical research in low risk malignancies located at low risk sites until a better understanding of its efficacy and toxicity is developed.
Where a therapy capable of harm is already being used by patients, it is ethically irresponsible not to study and analyse its effects. Although cautionary tales are valuable, black salve research needs to move beyond the case study and into the carefully designed clinical trial arena. Only then can patients be properly informed of its true benefits and hazards.
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Article of the Year Award: Outstanding research contributions of , as selected by our Chief Editors.
Read the winning articles. Journal overview. Special Issues. Andrew Croaker , 1,2 Graham J. King, 1 John H.
Academic Editor: Bhushan Patwardhan. Received 23 Sep Accepted 28 Dec Published 26 Jan Abstract Black salve is a topical escharotic used for the treatment of skin cancer. Introduction Complementary and alternative medicines CAM encompass a wide range of popular health interventions [ 1 ]. Black Salve as a Natural Therapy Black salve was originally developed by an American surgeon, Jesse Fell, its use first reported in the s [ 16 ].
Black Salve Cancer Specificity and Normal Tissue Toxicity Black salve is promoted as a safe skin cancer therapy, able to discriminate between cancerous and healthy tissue [ 57 ]. Figure 1. Figure 2. Data from [ 32 , 35 ].
Table 1. Table 2. Cosmetic outcome Number of cases Ref Fair to good 2 [ 47 , 50 ] Scarring 13 [ 42 , 51 , 52 ] Keloid scarring 2 [ 43 , 44 ] Concerning pigmentation changes 3 [ 44 ] Deformity 5 [ 43 , 46 , 53 — 55 ]. Table 3. References C. Zollman and A. Tindle, R. Davis, R. Phillips, and D. View at: Google Scholar B. Groenewold, Y. Schoefer, and T. Xue, A. Zhang, V. Lin, C. Da Costa, and D. Barnes, E. Powell-Griner, K. McFann, and R. View at: Google Scholar P. Barnes, B. Bloom, and R.
View at: Google Scholar N. Smith, D. Shin, J. Brauer, J. Mao, and J. Baron, R. Goodwin, N. Nicolau, S. Blackford, and V. Berman and S. Angell and J. Newman and G. Ortholand and A. View at: Google Scholar A. Shaw, C.
Moore, and M. Croaker, G. King, J. Pyne, S. Anoopkumar-Dukie, and L. Bishop, L. Yardley, and G. Schmetzer, G. Schnorrer-Kohler, and O. H2O, two new minerals from Richelsdorf, Hesse, F.
View at: Google Scholar M. Jha, V. Kumar, and R. Pearson, H. Dawson, and H. Capriotti and J. Ahmad, S. Gupta, M. Husain, K. Heiskanen, and H.
View at: Google Scholar Z. Yamamoto, R. Honma, and M. Hampl, K. Cienki and L. Sivyer and C. Ma, J. Dharamsi, and T. Tan, P. Peters, N. Ong, B. Shepherd, and H. Black salve should be subject to standarddrug regulations and its use discouraged by dermatologists due to the associated harmful effects and the availability of safer treatments.
To better treat and inform their patients, dermatologists should be aware that patients may be attracted to alternative treatments such as black salves. Skip to main content. Contact Dermatitis. By Jennifer L. Hou, MD Jerry D. Brewer, MD. Author and Disclosure Information Jennifer L. Hou, MD; Jerry D. To avoid the side effects and possible toxicity of medications, you might turn to natural painkillers instead. Check out these five surprising options.
Are you experiencing side effects from your breast cancer treatment? Here's how alternative treatments can help provide relief and improve quality of…. Though less common, Black people can get skin cancer. For this reason, skin cancer is often diagnosed later in Black people and may be more advanced…. A survey by an online pharmacy reports that about a quarter of sunscreen products contain the carcinogen benzene. Is there any evidence for micellar water cancer? Learn what research suggests and what alternatives to use if you're concerned about this popular….
Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Are black salve ingredients cancer-specific? Is black salve safe to use? Box 1. What should I tell patients who are using black salve? Box 2. Black salve — Patient information Black salve represents a variety of products that are claimed by certain vendors to provide effective treatment for skin cancers.
Formulations of black salve contain plant extracts, but the main ingredient by weight is zinc chloride, a synthetic corrosive material, and to that extent claims that they are natural therapies are inaccurate.
It is also a misconception that natural compounds are safer than and superior to synthetic pharmaceuticals. Some of the most potent poisons known to humankind are natural compounds. In the concentrations used in commercially available black salve formulations, these products indiscriminately destroy cancerous and non-cancerous tissue, resulting in a scab that eventually sloughs off and leaves an open wound.
Serious consequences of black salve use are documented in the scientific literature and include serious scarring, loss of facial structures resulting in severe deformity, and progression of disease, resulting in metastasis to other organs and subsequent death.
The supply or sale of black salve formulations in Australia is illegal. Conclusion Black salve continues to be used by many people in the community, with treatment often being self-initiated without formal medical assessment or advice.
Provenance and peer review: Not commissioned, externally peer reviewed. Create Quick log. A review of topical corrosive black salve. J Altern Complement Med ;20 4 — Antitumour activities of sanguinarine and related alkaloids.
Phytochem Rev ;13 1 — Cansema Black Topical Salve [product]. Miami, US: Herbologics Ltd, date unknown. Available at www. Sanguinaria canadensis: Traditional medicine, phytochemical composition, biological activities and current uses. Int J Mol Sci ;17 9 A treatise on cancer, and its treatments. London: John Churchill, Search PubMed Croft L. Med Hist ;38 2 — Search PubMed Reviews and notices. A treatise on cancer. BMJ ;1 26 — Oregon: Milestone Books, Cancer quackery — The past in the present.
Semin Oncol ;6 4 — Search PubMed Fishbein M. History of cancer quackery. Perspect Biol Med — Chemosurgery: A microscopically controlled method of cancer excision. Arch Surg ;42 2 — Chemosurgery for the microscopically controlled excision of cutaneous cancer. Head Neck Surg ;1 2 —
0コメント