Abstract A23: Practice-based interventions addressing cancer and chronic medical conditions in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America: From bench to bedside.
Authors: Mollik Md. Ariful Haque 
Published: August 2014

Indigenous medicines are in great demand in both developed and developing countries in primary health care because of their great efficacy and no side effects. Today according to the World Health Organization, as many as 80% of the world's natives depend on indigenous medicines for their primary health care needs. Philadelphia is the largest city in the state of Pennsylvania, and the fifth-most densely populated large city in the United States of America, and the indigenous healing systems are still popular here. The studies were conducted during August 2010 to July 2012 using semi-structured questionnaires, open-ended questionnaires, informal interviews, and group discussions with neighborhood indigenous physicians as well as residents having thorough knowledge about medicinal plants. The data such as local name of medicinal plants, plant parts used, application etc. were collected. The voucher samples of the medicinal plants collected during the studies were properly identified with help of floras. The studies were includes information on 48 medicinal plants used for wide range of different types of cancer. Of these 21 medicinal plants are used against malignant tumor, 18 medicinal plants are used against leukemia cancer, 11 medicinal plants are used against breast cancer, 09 medicinal plants are used against colorectal cancer, 06 medicinal plants are used against lung cancer, 05 medicinal plants are used against lymphoma cancer, 03 medicinal plants are used against pancreas cancer, and one medicinal plant is used for blastoma cancer. An assessment of the scientific literatures revealed that preliminary studies conducted on some of the above medicinal plants justify their use to treat specific ailments as practiced by the indigenous physicians as well as residents. There is enough scope of the amalgamation of these medicinal plants in the main stream of prenatal medicines suggest today after the medicinal plants drug are subjected to the phytochemical and biological screening, together with clinical trials. The studies were to interact with neighborhood indigenous physicians as well as residents and document their knowledge on medicinal plants, their usage, and the types of cancer treated etc.. The formulations mostly contained single medicinal plant instead of multiple medicinal plants. These medicinal plants belonged to different growth and life forms. The knowledge evolved for a long time through trial and error.

Note: This abstract was not presented at the conference.

Citation Format: Md. Ariful Haque Mollik. Practice-based interventions addressing cancer and chronic medical conditions in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America: From bench to bedside. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Fifth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2012 Oct 27-30; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2012;21(10 Suppl):Abstract nr A23.