Truth must remain truth – success for Prof Dr Michael Frass and homeopathy
We remember: In 2020, an article appeared in the journal ‘The Oncologist’ about an RCT study in which Prof Dr Michael Frass and others had shown that homeopathic treatment as an add-on therapy can improve quality of life and prolong survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.
Two years later, serious allegations were levelled against the research team. The authenticity of the study was questioned and there was talk of manipulation and fraud. Prof Michael Frass and his colleagues responded in writing and in detail to all the accusations, and the facts they presented were able to refute all the allegations – with the positive result that the journal ‘The Oncologist’ confirmed in September 2024 that it would not retract the article published in 2020. It rehabilitated Prof Frass and his team with an editorial confirming the value of the study.
In addition, a revised S-3 guideline in May 2024 continued to list homeopathy as an optional recommendation for certain oncological patients.
Our warmest congratulations!
At ICE 24 – this year’s WissHom congress, which took place at the end of October, Prof. Dr Frass personally commented on his success and reviewed the past years since the publication of the article on the 2020 study – in the following video you can hear Prof. Frass in his opening speech (in German language).
Links for further reading:
The study – published in the journal ‘The Oncologist’ in 2020:
Frass M, Lechleitner P, Gründling C, Pirker C, Grasmuk-Siegl E, Domayer J, Hochmair M, Gaertner K, Duscheck C, Muchitsch I, Marosi C, Schumacher M, Zöchbauer-Müller S, Manchanda RK, Schrott A, Burghuber O. Homeopathic Treatment as an Add-On Therapy May Improve Quality of Life and Prolong Survival in Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Prospective, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind, Three-Arm, Multicenter Study.
Oncologist 2020;25:e1930-e1955. doi: 10.1002/onco.13548. Epub 2020 Nov 7.
Supplement Special.Complementary Medicine of the magazine „Ärztewoche“ – Article by Prof. Dr Michael Frass in the issue of 17 June 2021:
The Oncologist – Further contributions to the study:
September 2024: Correction 2
The Oncologist, Volume 29, Issue 11, November 2024, Pages e1631–e1632, publishes 24 September 2024 https://doi.org/10.1093/oncolo/oyae253
December 2022: Expression of concern
The Oncologist, Volume 27, Issue 12, December 2022, Page e985, https://doi.org/10.1093/oncolo/oyac221
March 2021: Correction 1
The Oncologist, Volume 26, Issue 3, March 2021, Page e523, https://doi.org/10.1002/onco.13693
Further comments on the study (German and English)
May2024: Comments on an enquiry ofthe SPIEGEL editorial team regarding the study (German and English)
Stellungnahme (dt.) vom 16. Mai 2024
Comment (engl.) of 17 May 2024
December 2022: Statements on accusations of the Austrian Agency for Research Integrity (ÖAWI) against the study (German and English)
Stellungnahme (dt.)
Statement (engl.)
HRI: https://www.hri-research.org/2024/09/hri-statement-on-conclusion-of-frass-et-al-2020-investigation/
Supplement Special.Complementary Medicine of the magazine „Ärztewoche“ – Article regarding the rehabilitation in the issue of 31 October 2024:
Wahrheit muss Wahrheit bleiben
S3-Leitlinie:
S3-Leitlinie (May 2024) – homeopathy is still listed as an optional recommendation for certain oncological patients. This guideline refers to the following study:
Frass M, Friehs H, Thallinger C, Sohal NK, Marosi C, Muchitsch I, Gaertner K, Gleiss A, Schuster E, Oberbaum M. Influence of adjunctive classical homeopathy on global health status and subjective wellbeing in cancer patients – A pragmatic randomized controlled trial. Complement Ther Med. 2015 Jun;23(3):309-17. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2015.03.004. Epub 2015 Mar 23. PMID: 26051564.
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Michael Frass