Introduction: Tibetan medicine (TM) is a whole systems medical approach that has had growing interest in the West. However, minimal research, particularly with cancer, has been conducted. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of TM and describe a clinical case review study to obtain preliminary evidence of TM's safety and effect on patients treated for cancer or hematologic disorders. Methods: A retrospective case review was conducted in India and cases met the following inclusion criteria: (a) confirmed diagnosis of cancer or hematologic disorder by standard Western biomedical diagnostic tests, (b) either treated exclusively with TM or received insufficient Western treatment followed by TM and (c) were in remission or had stable disease at least 2 years after start of TM. Results: Three cases were identified, 1 solid tumor and 2 hematologic diseases: Case 1-poorly to moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma of the stomach, positive lymph nodes and mucosal infiltration, with clear scans and excellent quality of life 29 months later ; Case 2-chronic myelogenous leukemia with normalization of hematologic labs within 3 months of starting TM and stable 4 years later; and Case 3-red cell aplasia improved significantly and reversed dependence on blood transfusions with TM. None of the cases experienced demonstrable adverse effects from TM. Conclusions: This limited case review found TM to be safe and have positive effects on quality of life and disease regression and remission in patients with cancer and blood disorders. Further exploration and investigation using rigorous methods is warranted.

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M ercury (Hg) is ubiquitous in the environment with global emissions estimated at nearly 7527 Mg annually, some 70% from primary natural reservoirs and reemission processes. The remainder, anthropogenic sources, are principally fossil-fuel fired power plants, gold mining, nonferrous metals manufacturing, cement production, waste disposal and caustic soda production. 1 Despite its toxicity, Hg has a long history of use in Asian medicines including Ayurveda, 2,3 Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), 4,5 and Traditional Tibetan Medicine (TTM). 6 Last year Liu et al (the authors) published a research article in Environmental Science & Technology entitled "Traditional Tibetan Medicine Induced High Methylmercury Exposure Level and Environmental Mercury Burden in Tibet", that theoretically models the fate of Hg consumed as TTM, to high levels of Hg in Tibet's municipal sewage measured previously. 7 In our view, the paper has a number of short comings limiting the significance of the work and making it unlikely that the findings are directly informative for assessment of individual or population risks associated with TTM and the wider burden of mercury in the environment.