Department of Supportive Care in Oncology, Lucien Neuwirth Cancer Institute, Saint-Priest-en-Jarez, France.
Department of Radiation Oncology, Lucien Neuwirth Cancer Institute, Saint-Priest-en-Jarez, France.
Oncology. 2019;97(1):18-25. doi: 10.1159/000499629. Epub 2019 May 27.
It is usual for cancer patients to use complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) and yet the literature evaluating their efficacy in cancer patients is very limited. The objective of the present study was to report on the nature, frequency of use, and patient-reported outcome of CAMs in a single-center study.
All the consecutive patients treated between November 2017 and June 2018 at the Lucien Neuwirth Cancer Institute (France) were screened. Their reasons for using CAMs and their usage habits were collected. Patients evaluated their benefit.
Of the 209 patients screened, 200 patients were included. CAMs ranged from osteopathy, homeopathy, acupuncture, healing touch, magnetism, naturopathy, suction cups, Chinese medicine, reflexology, to hypnosis. CAMs were widely used (n = 166, 83%), the first being osteopathy (n = 99, 49.5%), the second homeopathy (n = 78, 39.0%), and finally acupuncture (n = 76, 38.0%). Whatever the CAM, high satisfaction rates were reported (median satisfaction: 61-81%). CAMs were mainly used to prevent/treat side effects of anticancer treatments (81.2% for healing touch), increase well-being (55.4% for naturopathy), improve the immune system (16.9% for homeopathy), and treat cancer (n = 3, 5.1% for homeopathy). Patients could easily consider using CAMs, as up to 50.8% would have accepted a consultation.
The reasons for using CAMs differed among patients. They praised CAMs and kept asking for more information although there is limited evidence about their efficacy in the literature. Thus, prospective randomized controlled trials exploring the safety and efficacy of CAMs in cancer patients are needed.
癌症患者常使用补充和替代医学（CAM），但评估其在癌症患者中的疗效的文献非常有限。本研究的目的是报告单中心研究中 CAM 的性质、使用频率和患者报告的结果。
筛选 2017 年 11 月至 2018 年 6 月期间在 Lucien Neuwirth 癌症研究所（法国）治疗的所有连续患者。收集他们使用 CAM 的原因和使用习惯。患者评估他们的受益情况。
在筛选的 209 名患者中，200 名患者被纳入。CAM 范围从整骨疗法、顺势疗法、针灸、疗愈触摸、磁场、顺势疗法、拔罐、中药、反射疗法、催眠术。CAM 被广泛使用（n = 166，83%），最常用的是整骨疗法（n = 99，49.5%），其次是顺势疗法（n = 78，39.0%），最后是针灸（n = 76，38.0%）。无论采用何种 CAM，报告的满意度均很高（中位数满意度：61-81%）。CAM 主要用于预防/治疗抗癌治疗的副作用（81.2%用于疗愈触摸），提高幸福感（55.4%用于顺势疗法），增强免疫系统（16.9%用于顺势疗法），以及治疗癌症（n = 3，5.1%用于顺势疗法）。患者很容易考虑使用 CAM，因为高达 50.8%的患者会接受咨询。
患者使用 CAM 的原因各不相同。尽管文献中关于 CAM 疗效的证据有限，但他们称赞 CAM，并不断要求更多信息。因此，需要开展探索 CAM 在癌症患者中的安全性和疗效的前瞻性随机对照试验。
