Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Cancer Patients: A Prospective Questionnaire-Based Study in an Oncological Outpatient Clinic

Abstract

Background: A questionnaire-based prospective study was conducted to evaluate the current use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in a hemato-oncological outpatient clinic. Methods: A multiple-choice questionnaire was designed to assess the use of CAM in a hemato-oncological outpatient clinic. It consisted of questions on sociodemographic and general patient data, and of different kind of questions concerning the use of CAM, including disclosure rates to oncologists and general physicians. The data was analyzed with SAS and a p-value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: 46 out of 251 patients (18%) indicated to use CAM. 62 out of all patients (25%) discussed the topic with their general physician or oncologist. Praying or nutritional supplements were the most often used type of CAM. 95 of all participating patients found that the use of CAM could be helpful. Conclusions: The findings of our monocentric study in an outpatient setting do not support the relatively high percentage of CAM users described in the current literature. Nevertheless, CAM needs to be defined more clearly, in order to increase the patients' awareness of CAM.

Complementary and Integrative Medicine Use in Individuals Seeking Conventional Medical Oncology Care in Chile: Prevalence and Patient Characteristics

“…In a survey of hematology-oncology patients receiving outpatient care in Germany, only 25% of patients reported discussing the topic of complementary medicine with their health care provider. 11 Because providers have deficits in communication and lack high-quality education regarding the role of CIM in cancer care, they may not be adequately prepared to address patient questions regarding CIM use.…”

Challenging Results Make Us Think

“…In this context, the results presented by Koenig et al [1] in this issue of Oncology Research and Treatment are quite challenging, as they contradict current evidence found in the literature. Why do I still think it is important to publish the paper?…”

“…Furthermore, if the results by Koenig et al [1] were representative for Germany, the use of complementary medicine in cancer patients would have decreased over time. A meta-analysis by Horneber et al [2] All of us who regularly perform surveys should be motivated to spend more time in the future on developing and testing our survey items.…”

Dietary supplement use in ambulatory cancer patients: a survey on prevalence, motivation and attitudes

“…The majority of patients stated to have received or acquired advice on the intake of DS and the most frequently given reason for DS intake was to support the immune system, followed by prevention of nutritional deficiencies. Data on the prevalence of DS use among ambulatory patients with cancer is limited in number and studies are heterogeneous regarding patient cohorts and design (Holzapfel et al 2020;Huebner et al 2014;Konig et al 2016;Maschke et al 2017). The majority of data is acquired from patients suffering from breast cancer (Drozdoff et al 2018;Fremd et al 2017) and studies are mainly conducted in cooperation with university-based cancer centers.…”

“…Data on the prevalence of DS use among ambulatory patients with cancer is limited in number and studies are heterogeneous regarding patient cohorts and design (Holzapfel et al 2020 ; Huebner et al 2014 ; Konig et al 2016 ; Maschke et al 2017 ). The majority of data is acquired from patients suffering from breast cancer (Drozdoff et al 2018 ; Fremd et al 2017 ) and studies are mainly conducted in cooperation with university-based cancer centers.…”