Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27151586›Full record

ArticleIntegrative cancer therapies2017

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use at a Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Qianlai Luo, Gary N Asher

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Integrative cancer therapies, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
9.0field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 49 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Dietary supplement use throughout the colorectal cancer disease trajectory: a prospective cohort study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Cancer patients' behaviors and attitudes toward natural health products.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2023
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. A survey of cancer patients, caregivers, and providers regarding familiarity, importance, and utilization of supportive and integrative oncology services.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2021
    Article
  12. Review
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Qianlai Luo1 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Gary N Asher1 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundComplementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is common among cancer patients, but the majority of CAM studies do not specify the time periods in relation to cancer diagnoses. We sought to define CAM use by cancer patients and investigate factors that might influence changes in CAM use in relation to cancer diagnoses.

methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey of adults diagnosed with breast, prostate, lung, or colorectal cancer between 2010 and 2012 at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Questionnaires were sent to 1794 patients. Phone calls were made to nonrespondents. Log binomial/Poisson regressions were used to investigate the association between cancer-related changes in CAM use and conversations about CAM use with oncology providers.

resultsWe received 603 (33.6 %) completed questionnaires. The mean age (SD) was 64 (11) years; 62% were female; 79% were white; and 98% were non-Hispanic. Respondents reported the following cancer types: breast (47%), prostate (27%), colorectal (14%), lung (11%). Eighty-nine percent reported lifetime CAM use. Eighty-five percent reported CAM use during or after initial cancer treatment, with category-specific use as follows: mind-body medicine 39%, dietary supplements 73%, body-based therapies 30%, and energy medicine 49%. During treatment CAM use decreased for all categories except energy medicine. After treatment CAM use returned to pretreatment levels for most CAMs except chiropractic. Initiation of CAM use after cancer diagnosis was positively associated with a patient having a conversation about CAM use with their oncology provider, mainly driven by patient-initiated conversations.

conclusionsConsistent with previous studies, CAM use was common among our study population. Conversations about CAM use with oncology providers appeared to influence cessation of mind-body medicine use after cancer diagnosis.

Indexed as

Complementary TherapiesCross-Sectional StudiesDietary SupplementsFemaleHealth BehaviorHumansMaleMiddle AgedMind-Body TherapiesNeoplasmsOncology Service, HospitalSurveys and Questionnairescancer survivorshipcomplementary and alternative medicinepatient behaviorpatient-provider communicationtreatment phase

Identifiers

PMID27151586
PMCPMC5736063
OpenAlexW2345992415

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.