Primary Care Clinical Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.
QJM. 2009 Dec;102(12):831-42. doi: 10.1093/qjmed/hcp137. Epub 2009 Oct 1.
Little is known about the use of herbal medicines by people living with cancer in the UK. This systematic review aimed to estimate the prevalence of herbal medicine use by this group, the characteristics of users, factors motivating use, and attitudes towards herbal remedies.
Fifteen electronic databases were searched. People who were research-active in the field were contacted and asked about further published or unpublished work. All studies identified as relevant to the purpose of the review were assessed. Searches were not restricted by publication type or date.
Of 1288 unique references identified, 11 met the eligibility criteria. Studies were excluded where research had been conducted outside the UK; where information on herbal medicine use was not differentiated from that relating to complementary and alternative therapies more broadly, and where neither prevalence of use nor information on user characteristics was included. Prevalence estimates ranged from 3.1 to 24.9%. Most studies did not obtain information specifically on herbal medicines and only one examined the characteristics and motivations of users of herbal medicines as distinct from complementary and alternative therapies in general.
The high degree of heterogeneity of methodology, sample selection and characteristics, and research design resulted in a wide range of estimates of prevalence. Well-designed research is needed to define the evidence base about the herbal medicines taken by people with cancer in the UK, the reasons for use, knowledge about possible effects and potential risks, and where people seek information.
对于在英国生活的癌症患者使用草药的情况，人们知之甚少。本系统评价旨在估算该人群使用草药的流行率、使用者的特征、促使使用的因素以及对草药疗法的态度。
检索了 15 个电子数据库。联系了该领域的研究活跃人员，并询问他们是否有进一步发表或未发表的工作。评估了所有被确定为与本综述目的相关的研究。搜索未对出版物类型或日期进行限制。
从 1288 个独特的参考文献中，有 11 项符合纳入标准。排除了在英国境外进行研究的研究；未将草药使用信息与更广泛的补充和替代疗法信息区分开来的研究；以及未包括使用率或用户特征信息的研究。使用率估计范围从 3.1 到 24.9%。大多数研究未专门获取关于草药的信息，只有一项研究专门研究了草药使用者的特征和动机，而不是与一般补充和替代疗法相比。
由于方法学、样本选择和特征以及研究设计的高度异质性，导致使用率的估计值范围很广。需要进行精心设计的研究，以确定在英国，癌症患者使用草药的证据基础，包括使用的原因、对可能的影响和潜在风险的了解，以及人们在哪里寻求信息。
