Quantumwave laser quackery

I’ve wanted to revisit the world of low level laser therapy (LLLT) for a while.^*.  Back in early 2009 I gave this therapy a look, after I came across the story of a woman in New Zealand who died from breast cancer after being ‘treated’ with a decidedly quackish variant of LLLT, called “Bioptron’.

I’ve been wondering if I missed anything when I was focusing on Bioptron and whether any more evidence has come to light since.

The Quantumwave Laser website^** has given me the push I needed.  The website was fantasy physics meets fantasy medicine; though it looks like some excellent ‘FishBarreling’ has taken care of most of the medical claims.

Still, there’s plenty of made up physics left to enjoy, along with the excuse to look at low level laser therapy again.

First, what is low level laser therapy?

Low level laser therapy refers to the therapeutic use of lasers, generally applied externally to the skin, delivering low doses of energy in an attempt to treat various conditions.

There are various hypotheses for how LLLT might work, but any mechanism of action remains unclear.

Typically, lasers are chosen that operate in the red to near infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum, though there are exceptions as we shall see. Because the lasers are low-powered the therapy is sometimes called “soft” or “cold” lasers.

Cancer and the magic lamp

Could a magic lamp kill?  No, but believing it can cure cancer may well be fatal.  Take the case of Ms A, a woman from New Zealand diagnosed with breast cancer.  A biopsy confirmed that she had had “invasive ductal carcinoma with high grade features”.  A mastectomy was scheduled.

She subsequently decided to seek, “alternate options” after discussing her condition with a member of the New Zealand Light and Colour Therapy Institute.  As a result she received Bioptron Light Therapy for 2½ years, undergoing a total of 159 treatments, and “ended up paying quite a good amount of money”. 

Her condition progressively deteriorated and she eventually sought proper medical care.  A breast surgeon reviewed her condition and told her that she had, “advanced breast disease that [was] palliative”. 

Since then Ms A has been treated with several cycles of chemotherapy, “to control the cancer for some period of time” rather than “to cure it”. A CT scan has shown, “evidence of multiple lung metastases”; subsequently Ms A had a right mastectomy followed by further courses of chemotherapy.  She is dying.