ArticleBMC complementary and alternative medicine2016
An assessment of the impact of herb-drug combinations used by cancer patients.
Article in BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 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
31 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 71 citations in OpenAlex.
- Green tea (Camellia sinensis) for the prevention of cancer.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Use of dietary supplements and over-the-counter products among adults with a self-reported history of cancer in Poland.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- The prevalence of clinically relevant herb-drug interactions between herbal products and anti-cancer therapy in older adults with cancer - A cross-sectional study.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2025Article
- Cancer Patients' Behavior and Perception on the Use of Medical Foods and Dietary Supplements During Chemotherapy.Patient preference and adherence · 2025Article
- Impact of Medication Reconciliation in Oncology Early Phase Studies: A Drug-Drug Interaction Retrospective Study.JCO oncology practice · 2024Article
- An Innovative Approach to a Potential NeuroprotectiveInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Herbal Therapies for Cancer Treatment: A Review of Phytotherapeutic Efficacy.Biologics : targets & therapy · 2024Review
- In Vitro and In Vivo Imaging-Based Evaluation of Doxorubicin Anticancer Treatment in Combination with the Herbal Medicine Black Cohosh.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Cancer patients' behaviors and attitudes toward natural health products.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2023Article
- Biologically Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Breast Cancer Patients and Possible Drug-Drug Interactions.Breast care (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The prevalence and predictors of herb-drug interactions among Iranian cancer patients during chemotherapy courses.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2023Article
- The Self-Administered Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Supplements and Antioxidants in Cancer Therapy and the Critical Role of Nrf-2-A Systematic Review.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Advances in Transversal Topics Applicable to the Care of Bladder Cancer Patients in the Real-World Setting.Cancers · 2022Review
- Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) supplements in cancer outpatients: analyses of usage and of interaction risks with cancer treatment.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2022Article
- Interactions in cancer treatment considering cancer therapy, concomitant medications, food, herbal medicine and other supplements.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2022Article
- Patient-sharing relationship between Chinese medicine doctors and other physicians: costs and outcomes of breast cancer survivorship care.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2021Article
- Article
- Dietary supplement use in ambulatory cancer patients: a survey on prevalence, motivation and attitudes.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2021Article
- 'My wife is my doctor at home': A qualitative study exploring the challenges of home-based palliative care in a resource-poor setting.Palliative medicine · 2021Article
- Selective cytotoxic and anti-metastatic activity in DU-145 prostate cancer cells induced by Annona muricata L. bark extract and phytochemical, annonacin.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHerb/Dietary Supplements (HDS) are the most popular Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) modality used by cancer patients and the only type which involves the ingestion of substances which may interfere with the efficacy and safety of conventional medicines. This study aimed to assess the level of use of HDS in cancer patients undergoing treatment in the UK, and their perceptions of their effects, using 127 case histories of patients who were taking HDS. Previous studies have evaluated the risks of interactions between HDS and conventional drugs on the basis on numbers of patient using HDSs, so our study aimed to further this exploration by examining the actual drug combinations taken by individual patients and their potential safety.
methodThree hundred seventy-five cancer patients attending oncology departments and centres of palliative care at the Oxford University Hospitals Trust (OUH), Duchess of Kent House, Sobell House, and Nettlebed Hospice participated in a self-administered questionnaire survey about their HDS use with their prescribed medicines. The classification system of Stockley's Herbal Medicine's Interactions was adopted to assess the potential risk of herb-drug interactions for these patients.
results127/375 (34 %; 95 % CI 29, 39) consumed HDS, amounting to 101 different products. Most combinations were assessed as 'no interaction', 22 combinations were categorised as 'doubt about outcomes of use', 6 combinations as 'Potentially hazardous outcome', one combination as an interaction with 'Significant hazard', and one combination as an interaction of "Life-threatening outcome". Most patients did not report any adverse events.
conclusionMost of the patients sampled were not exposed to any significant risk of harm from interactions with conventional medicines, but it is not possible as yet to conclude that risks in general are over-estimated. The incidence of HDS use was also less than anticipated, and significantly less than reported in other areas, illustrating the problems when extrapolating results from one region (the UK), in one setting (NHS oncology) in where patterns of supplement use may be very different to those elsewhere.
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