Observational studyJournal of the National Cancer Institute2018
Use of Alternative Medicine for Cancer and Its Impact on Survival.
Observational study in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 119 papers, 7 of them syntheses 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
119 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 315 citations in OpenAlex.
- Older adults and online health misinformation: a systematic literature review.BMC psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- How Is Quality of mHealth Interventions for Cancer Survivors Defined and Described? An Umbrella Review.JCO clinical cancer informatics · 2022Pooled it
- Acceptance and use of complementary and alternative medicine among medical specialists: a 15-year systematic review and data synthesis.Systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Addressing Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Individuals With Cancer: An Integrative Review and Clinical Practice Guideline.Journal of the National Cancer Institute · 2022Guideline
- Pooled it
- Systematic identification of mutations and copy number alterations associated with cancer patient prognosis.eLife · 2018Pooled it
- A Health Media Literacy Intervention Increases Skepticism of Both Inaccurate and Accurate Cancer News Among U.S. Adults.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2024Trial
- Efficacy of a Decision-Making Aid About Homeopathy in Patients With Cancer: A Single-Arm, Pre-Post Observational Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Beyond "What Should I Eat to Get Better?": Medical Literacy, Dietary Narratives, and Supportive Nutrition in Hematologic Diseases.JMA journal · 2026Article
- Is traditional Chinese medicine service accessibility associated with health inequality? Evidence from the distribution of health capital among rural residents in China.International journal for equity in health · 2026Article
- Reducing Buprenorphine Misinformation as a Strategy to Improve Adoption in Primary Care.Substance use & misuse · 2026Article
- Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the Management of Breast Cancer.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Misinformation and Profitability of Hepatitis B Virus Claims on Instagram: Formative Cross-Sectional Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Epstein-Barr Virus Infection Is Associated with an Elevated Tumor-Stroma Ratio and Older Age in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.Viruses · 2026Article
- Overconfidence in ability to discern cancer misinformation: a conceptual replication and extension.Human communication research · 2026Article
- Intervening and reducing sharing of false cancer treatments on social media: Online experiment.PloS one · 2026Article
- Case Report: From standard therapy refusal to rare metastases: a case of untreated HER2-positive breast cancer progressing to brain and thyroid metastases after seven years of follow-up during which the patient received only Chinese herbal medicine.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- Validation of the Questionnaire for the Structured Assessment of the Use of Complementary Medicine Methods and Procedures in Patients from the S3 Guideline Complementary Medicine in Oncology and Practical Use of it in Patients with Gynecological Cancer.Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde · 2026Article
- Article
59 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
There is limited available information on patterns of utilization and efficacy of alternative medicine (AM) for patients with cancer. We identified 281 patients with nonmetastatic breast, prostate, lung, or colorectal cancer who chose AM, administered as sole anticancer treatment among patients who did not receive conventional cancer treatment (CCT), defined as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery, and/or hormone therapy. Independent covariates on multivariable logistic regression associated with increased likelihood of AM use included breast or lung cancer, higher socioeconomic status, Intermountain West or Pacific location, stage II or III disease, and low comorbidity score. Following 2:1 matching (CCT = 560 patients and AM = 280 patients) on Cox proportional hazards regression, AM use was independently associated with greater risk of death compared with CCT overall (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.50, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.88 to 3.27) and in subgroups with breast (HR = 5.68, 95% CI = 3.22 to 10.04), lung (HR = 2.17, 95% CI = 1.42 to 3.32), and colorectal cancer (HR = 4.57, 95% CI = 1.66 to 12.61). Although rare, AM utilization for curable cancer without any CCT is associated with greater risk of death.
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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.