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Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in cancer patients: An Italian multicenter survey

2016; Impact Journals LLC; Volume: 8; Issue: 15 Linguagem: Inglês

10.18632/oncotarget.14224

1949-2553

Massimiliano Berretta, Chiara Della Pepa, Paolo Tralongo, Alberto Fulvi, Ferdinando Martellotta, Arben Lleshi, Guglielmo Nasti, R Fisichella, Carmela Romano, Chiara De Divitiis, R. Taibi, Francesco Fiorica, Raffaele Di Francia, Anna Di Mari, Lino Del Pup, Anna Crispo, Paolo De Paoli, Adriano Santorelli, Vincenzo Quagliariello, Rosario Vincenzo Iaffaioli, Umberto Tirelli, Gaetano Facchini,

Phytochemistry Medicinal Plant Applications

// Massimiliano Berretta 1 , Chiara Della Pepa 2 , Paolo Tralongo 3 , Alberto Fulvi 4 , Ferdinando Martellotta 1 , Arben Lleshi 1 , Guglielmo Nasti 5 , Rossella Fisichella 6 , Carmela Romano 5 , Chiara De Divitiis 5 , Rosaria Taibi 1 , Francesco Fiorica 7 , Raffaele Di Francia 8, 9 , Anna Di Mari 3 , Lino Del Pup 10 , Anna Crispo 11 , Paolo De Paoli 12 , Adriano Santorelli 13 , Vincenzo Quagliariello 5 , Rosario Vincenzo Iaffaioli 5 , Umberto Tirelli 1 , Gaetano Facchini 2 1 Department of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Institute, Aviano (PN), Italy 2 Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Uro-Gynaecological Oncology, Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS “Fondazione G. Pascale”, Naples, Italy 3 Division of Medical Oncology, “Umberto I” Hospital, Syracuse, Italy 4 Department of Medicine and Surgery of Integrated Treatment, Division of Thoracic Oncology, “San Camillo Forlanini” Hospital, Rome, Italy 5 Department of Abdominal Oncology, Division of Medical Oncology B, National Cancer Institute, “G. Pascale” Foundation, Naples, Italy 6 Department of Surgery, University of Catania, Catania, Italy 7 Department of Radiation Oncology University Hospital Ferrara, Division of Radiotherapy, “Arcispedale Sant’Anna” Hospital, Ferrara, Italy 8 Department of Hematology, Istituto Nazionale Tumori ‘Fondazione Giovanni Pascale’, IRCCS, Naples, Italy 9 Gruppo Oncologico Ricercatori Italiani, GORI, Pordenone, Italy 10 Division of Gynaecological Oncology, National Cancer Institute, Aviano (PN), Italy 11 Unit of Epidemiology, Struttura Complessa di Statistica Medica, Biometria e Bioinformatica, Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS “Fondazione G. Pascale”, Naples, Italy 12 Scientific Directorate, National Cancer Institute, Aviano (PN), Italy 13 Department of Plastic Surgery, Regenerative Medicine, Health Park Hospital, Naples, Italy Correspondence to: Massimiliano Berretta, email: mberretta@cro.it Keywords: complementary medicine, alternative medicine, survey, cancer, treatment Received: October 13, 2016 Accepted: November 20, 2016 Published: December 25, 2016 ABSTRACT Introduction: Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) include a wide range of products (herbs, vitamins, minerals, and probiotics) and medical practices, developed outside of the mainstream Western medicine. Patients with cancer are more likely to resort to CAM first or then in their disease history; the potential side effects as well as the costs of such practices are largely underestimated. Patients and method: We conducted a descriptive survey in five Italian hospitals involving 468 patients with different malignancies. The survey consisted of a forty-two question questionnaire, patients were eligible if they were Italian-speaking and receiving an anticancer treatment at the time of the survey or had received an anticancer treatment no more than three years before participating in the survey. Results: Of our patients, 48.9% said they use or have recently used CAM. The univariate analysis showed that female gender, high education, receiving treatment in a highly specialized institute and receiving chemotherapy are associated with CAM use; at the multivariate analysis high education (Odds Ratio, (OR): 1.96 95% Confidence Interval, CI, 1.27-3.05) and receiving treatment in a specialized cancer center (OR: 2.75 95% CI, 1.53-4.94) were confirmed as risk factors for CAM use. Conclusion: Roughly half of our patients receiving treatment for cancer use CAM. It is necessary that health professional explore the use of CAM with their cancer patients, educate them about potentially beneficial therapies in light of the limited available evidence of effectiveness, and work towards an integrated model of health-care provision.