Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam, South Korea.
Support Care Cancer. 2012 Mar;20(3):461-73. doi: 10.1007/s00520-011-1094-z. Epub 2011 Jan 28.
The worldwide use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among cancer patients has increased, with breast cancer patients being more likely to use CAM compared with any other cancer patients. However, few surveys have systematically described CAM use among Korean breast cancer patients. This study investigated the use of CAM among patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer, along with the relevant demographic and clinical factors related to CAM use. We also compared the difference in quality of life between CAM users and nonusers.
A total of 661 patients were invited to participate in this study during routine clinic visits, with 425 patients ultimately participating. Three hundred ninety-nine questionnaires were completed and used in the final analysis. Quality of life was evaluated based on the Korean versions of the EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-BR23.
Previous or current CAM usage was reported by 229 patients (57.4%). Independent factors related to CAM use were marital status, cancer stage, and coexisting illness. The common types of CAM use included exercise therapy (43.2%) and ingestion of vitamins and minerals (41.9%). The reasons for CAM use were to boost the immune system (53.2%), promote health (46.8%) and prevent recurrence (37.7%). Large proportions (70.4%) of CAM users did not discuss their CAM use with their physicians. Only a small number of CAM users (2.5%) answered that they were unsatisfied with their CAM use, with most CAM users reporting that they would continue their CAM use. Quality of life was not significantly different between CAM users and nonusers.
A significant number of patients with breast cancer have used CAM, and health care providers should be aware of the variety of CAM methods and their patients' CAM uses for the proper management of breast cancer.
在癌症患者中，补充和替代医学（CAM）的全球使用率有所增加，乳腺癌患者比其他任何癌症患者更有可能使用 CAM。然而，很少有调查系统地描述了韩国乳腺癌患者对 CAM 的使用情况。本研究调查了被诊断患有乳腺癌的患者对 CAM 的使用情况，以及与 CAM 使用相关的相关人口统计学和临床因素。我们还比较了 CAM 用户和非用户之间的生活质量差异。
在常规门诊就诊期间，共邀请 661 名患者参加本研究，最终有 425 名患者参加。共有 399 份问卷完成并用于最终分析。生活质量基于 EORTC QLQ-C30 和 EORTC QLQ-BR23 的韩文版本进行评估。
229 名患者（57.4%）报告了之前或当前使用 CAM。与 CAM 使用相关的独立因素包括婚姻状况、癌症分期和并存疾病。常见的 CAM 使用类型包括运动疗法（43.2%）和摄入维生素和矿物质（41.9%）。使用 CAM 的原因是增强免疫系统（53.2%）、促进健康（46.8%）和预防复发（37.7%）。很大比例（70.4%）的 CAM 用户没有与他们的医生讨论他们的 CAM 使用情况。只有少数 CAM 用户（2.5%）回答他们对他们的 CAM 使用不满意，大多数 CAM 用户表示他们将继续使用他们的 CAM。CAM 用户和非用户之间的生活质量没有显著差异。
相当数量的乳腺癌患者使用了 CAM，医疗保健提供者应该了解各种 CAM 方法及其患者对 CAM 的使用情况，以便对乳腺癌进行适当的管理。
