Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30111972›Full record

ArticleCurrent oncology (Toronto, Ont.)2018

Complementary and alternative medicine use in patients before and after a cancer diagnosis.

C A Buckner, R M Lafrenie, J A Dénommée, J M Caswell, D A Want

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.), 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 75 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
75citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

75 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. The use of complementary and integrative therapies as adjunct interventions during radiotherapy: a systematic review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2021
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  11. Factors Associated with the Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Rural Northern Victoria, Australia.Health care analysis : HCA : journal of health philosophy and policy · 2025
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  17. Oncology researchers' and clinicians' perceptions of complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine: an international, cross-sectional survey.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024
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15 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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

5 authors.

C A BucknerHealth Sciences North Research Institute.
R M LafrenieHealth Sciences North Research Institute.
J A DénomméeDepartments of Biology, Biomolecular Sciences, and Psychology, Laurentian University, and.
J M CaswellHealth Sciences North Research Institute.
D A WantNortheast Cancer Centre, Sudbury, ON.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Cancer patients are increasingly seeking out complementary and alternative medicine (cam) and might be reluctant to disclose its use to their oncology treatment team. Often, cam agents are not well studied, and little is known about their potential interactions with chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or biologic therapies, and their correlations with outcomes. In the present study, we set out to determine the rate of cam use in patients receiving treatment at a Northern Ontario cancer centre. Methods: Patients reporting for treatment at the Northeast Cancer Centre (necc) in Sudbury, Ontario, were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire to assess cam use. Changes in cam use before, compared with after, diagnosis were also assessed. Results: Patients in Northern Ontario reported significant cam use both before and after diagnosis. However, as a function of the cam type, cam use was greatly enhanced after cancer diagnosis. For example, the number of patients who reported use of biologic products increased to 51.8% after a cancer diagnosis from 15.6% before a cancer diagnosis. Patients reported much smaller changes in the use of alternative medical systems or spiritual therapy after diagnosis. Vitamin use was reported by 66% of respondents, and the number of different cams used correlated significantly with the reported number of vitamins used. Conclusions: Use of cam, particularly biologic products, increased significantly after a cancer diagnosis. Further studies are required to examine the effect of cam use on the efficacy and safety of cancer therapies.

Indexed as

Biological ProductsComplementary TherapiesHumansNeoplasmsSurveys and QuestionnairesBiological ProductsComplementary and alternative medicinenatural productsquestionnaires

Identifiers

PMID30111972
PMCPMC6092049

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.