cancer treatment with the alternative herbal medicine huma: two case reports

complementary and alternative medicine is popular among cancer patients worldwide. among these, herbal medicines have a substantial place in cancer treatment and palliation. cancer patients in the western world use complementary and alternative medicine in conjunction with conventional care. however, the situation in a developing country such as india that has some highest cancer rates worldwide is alarming. lack of early screening and treatment facilities coupled with high cost of treatment often compels patients to seek alternative measures for treatment. we discuss two cancer patients with advanced disease who tried an alternative poly herbal therapy (huma). this herbal formulation was derived from various important ayurvedic herbs viz. azadirachta indica, curcuma longa, embelica officinalis, ocimum sanctum, semecarpus anacardium, and tinospora cordifolia, among others. a male patient 59 years of age with disseminated malignant disease of either pseudomyxoma peritonei or metastatic mucinous adenocarcinoma showed immense benefit by this therapy with complete regression of his malignancy. the patient completed five years of disease-free survival after cessation of therapy. the second case, a 33-year old male patient diagnosed with rectal carcinoma and multiple metastatic lesions in his liver underwent huma therapy with stabilization in his disease progression for an 11-month period. in this case, treatment with huma was helpful in palliative care. no adverse effects were noted in either patient.