A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a remarkable study, just published in the BMJ which had found that over half of the new cancer drugs released onto the market in a four year period by the EU drugs regulator had no good evidence that they were effective. In other words, there was also no evidence that their benefits outweighed their risk or that they were value for money.

As anyone who is involved with cancer knows, you have two options. Follow the standard, scientifically validated route – variations on surgery, drugs and radiotherapy – supported by proper clinical trials or venture into the unapproved, unlicensed territory of complementary medicine frequently described as quackery.