ArticleEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2015
The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine by Korean Breast Cancer Women: Is It Associated with Severity of Symptoms?
Article in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on breast cancer symptoms: systematic review and meta-analysis.Einstein (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2018Pooled it
- The effects of Pranayama breathing exercise on symptom burden among women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy: a randomized controlled trial.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025Trial
- Differences in Self-purchased Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use and Patient-reported Satisfaction between Female-specific and Non-female-specific Cancer Patients.Journal of cancer prevention · 2026Article
- Vitamin/mineral and non-vitamin/non-mineral supplement use of breast cancer survivors in Korea.Nutrition research and practice · 2026Article
- Endorsement of alternative medicine and vaccine hesitancy among physicians: A cross-sectional study in four European countries.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2023Article
- Utilization of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by women with breast cancer or gynecological cancer.PloS one · 2023Article
- Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in Patients With Colorectal Cancer.Clinical nutrition research · 2022Article
- Traditional and complementary medicine use among cancer patients in Nepal: a cross-sectional survey.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2022Article
- Association between Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use and Fear of Cancer Recurrence among Breast Cancer Survivors.Korean journal of family medicine · 2022Article
- Prevalence of the Use of Herbal Medicines among Patients with Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2021Review
- Stress reduction strategies in breast cancer: review of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic based strategies.Seminars in immunopathology · 2020Review
- Contribution of Immune Cells to Glucocorticoid Receptor Expression in Breast Cancer.International journal of molecular sciences · 2020Article
- Prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine use in brain tumor patients at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.Saudi medical journal · 2020Article
- Complementary and alternative medicine use among outpatients during the 2015 MERS outbreak in South Korea: a cross-sectional study.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2020Article
- Complementary and alternative medicine use among infertile women attending infertility specialty clinics in South Korea: does perceived severity matter?BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2019Article
- Quality of life and complementary and alternative medicine use among women with breast cancer.Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society · 2018Article
- Complementary and Alternative Medicines and Patients With Breast Cancer: A Case of Mortality and Systematic Review of Patterns of Use in Patients With Breast Cancer.Plastic surgery (Oakville, Ont.) · 2017Review
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use and Its Association with Emotional Status and Quality of Life in Patients with a Solid Tumor: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) · 2017Article
- Complementary and alternative medicine use among patients with cancer in Mongolia: a National hospital survey.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2017Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background. Use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among patients with breast cancer could be associated with severity of the cancer symptoms experienced, but there is little evidence to prove this. This study tried to investigate any difference in the severity of breast cancer symptoms between CAM users and nonusers. Methods. The study followed cross-sectional design using structured survey questionnaire. Survey participants were recruited from four different healthcare settings in Seoul, South Korea. The survey instrument comprised 39 items including questions on demographics, use of CAM, and six main symptoms associated with breast cancer and cancer treatment. Results. Out of 288 participants, 67% stated using one or more modalities of CAM. Age, education, and time duration since diagnosis of cancer were significantly associated with use of CAM. About 90% of the CAM users experienced side effects of cancer treatment. CAM users reported more severe anxiety and skin/hair changes than nonusers. Conclusions. CAM was used by those breast cancer patients who experience more severe symptoms to alleviate the conditions associated with breast cancer and cancer treatment. Our findings revealed motivation behind the CAM use, which has profound implications for clinicians to recognize patient-perceived needs.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.