Chavengkijsakol Danupol, Kongjan Jirayut, Suwanwattanakul Thanapoom, Trakarnsanga Bussaba, Areepium Nutthada, Siritientong Tippawan
Department of Food and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Department of Pharmacy, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand.
Patient Prefer Adherence. 2025 May 9;19:1385-1395. doi: 10.2147/PPA.S514170. eCollection 2025.
The emerging clinical implications of medical foods and dietary supplements in cancer patients have been recognized. This study aimed to evaluate the perception and usage of these products in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Cross-sectional descriptive research was conducted by face-to-face interviews between October 2017 and February 2018. The participants provided written informed consent before data collection.
This study included 201 patients (mean age 55.9 years) with gastrointestinal, breast, gynecological, and respiratory tract cancers, primarily receiving antimetabolite or platinum-based regimens. Awareness of medical foods and dietary supplements was high, at 97% and 98%, respectively. Most patients (91.5% for medical foods, 80.1% for dietary supplements) believed these products could be used safely without side effects, and over 70% thought they could be used concurrently with chemotherapy. More than half of the patients reported receiving supplement information from friends or relatives, while 65.2% stated that healthcare providers did not ask about their uses. Notably, 69.7% and 51.2% of patients reported current use of medical foods and dietary supplements, respectively, but 61.7% did not disclose this to their healthcare providers primarily since they were not asked.
These findings highlight the need for healthcare professionals to actively address the use of medical foods and dietary supplements with cancer patients. Enhanced communication and guidance could ensure safe and effective integration of these products into supportive cancer care.
医用食品和膳食补充剂在癌症患者中日益显现的临床意义已得到认可。本研究旨在评估这些产品在接受化疗的癌症患者中的认知度和使用情况。
2017年10月至2018年2月期间通过面对面访谈进行横断面描述性研究。参与者在数据收集前提供了书面知情同意书。
本研究纳入了201例患者（平均年龄55.9岁），患有胃肠道、乳腺、妇科和呼吸道癌症，主要接受抗代谢物或铂类方案治疗。医用食品和膳食补充剂的知晓率分别高达97%和98%。大多数患者（医用食品为91.5%，膳食补充剂为80.1%）认为这些产品可以安全使用且无副作用，超过70%的患者认为它们可以与化疗同时使用。超过一半的患者报告从朋友或亲戚那里获得补充剂信息，而65.2%的患者表示医护人员未询问他们的使用情况。值得注意的是，分别有69.7%和51.2%的患者报告目前正在使用医用食品和膳食补充剂，但61.7%的患者主要因为未被询问而未向医护人员透露这一情况。
这些发现凸显了医护人员需要积极与癌症患者讨论医用食品和膳食补充剂的使用问题。加强沟通和指导可以确保这些产品安全有效地融入癌症支持治疗中。
