ReviewIndian journal of palliative care
The Effect of Complementary and Alternative Medicines on Quality of Life in Patients with Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review.
Review in Indian journal of palliative care. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- Quality of Life in Breast and Gynecological Cancer: A Review of Systematic Reviews, 1985-2025.Asia-Pacific journal of clinical oncology · 2026Pooled it
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Metal Nano-Particles Loaded with Herbal Drugs Moieties Against Breast Cancer.Recent patents on nanotechnology · 2025Pooled it
- The Effects of Body-Oriented Interventions on Cancer-Related Symptoms of Women Who Survived Breast Cancer: Protocol for a Systematic Review.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Women's Lived Experiences in the Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Breast Cancer Management: A Phenomenological Study.Journal of holistic nursing : official journal of the American Holistic Nurses' Association · 2026Article
- The Quality of Life in Kidney Transplant Recipients and Its Relation With the Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine: A Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2025Article
- Symptom Reporting Behaviors, Symptom Burden, and Quality of Life in Patients with Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer Undergoing Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2025Article
- Awareness of breast self-examination and understanding of breast cancer treatment options among female patients of Lahore, Pakistan: a cross-sectional study.Journal of preventive medicine and hygiene · 2024Article
- The mediating role of COVID-19 anxiety on the relationship between quality of life and spiritual well-being, and hopelessness: A study on cancer patients.Palliative & supportive care · 2024Article
- Effects of Antioxidant Dietary Supplement Use upon Response to Cancer Treatment: A Scoping Review of Available Evidence.Nutrition and cancer · 2024Article
- Risks and benefits of antioxidant dietary supplement use during cancer treatment: protocol for a scoping review.BMJ open · 2021Article
- Current Characteristics of Herbal Medicine Interventions for Cancer on Clinical Databases: A Cross-Sectional Study.Integrative cancer therapiesReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBreast cancer disease and its classic treatment lead to decrease in patients' quality of life (QOL). This systematic review aimed to compare the effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) categories on the QOL of women with breast cancer.
methodsEnglish clinical trials from PubMed, Emabase, Scupos, and Google Scholar databases were searched electronically by the end of 2018 with the Cochrane Collaboration protocol. Two researchers independently extracted data such as participants' characteristics, CAM methods, QOL assessment tools. CAMs were classified into three categories of dietary supplements, herbal medicine, and mind-body techniques.
resultsDuring the initial search, 1186 articles were found. After reviewing titles, abstracts, and full texts based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, 28 clinical trials were included in the systematic review, 18 of which was randomized controlled trial (RCT). Participants included women with breast cancer who were undergoing the first three phases of breast cancer or postcancer rehabilitation. Among CAM interventions, one article used a dietary supplement, and the other 27 articles included a variety of mind-body techniques. Twenty-seven studies showed improved QOL (
conclusionThe findings may indicate the potential benefits of CAMs, especially mind-body techniques on QOL in breast cancer patients. Further RCTs or long-term follow-up studies are recommended. Moreover, the use of similar QOL assessment tools allows for more meta-analysis and generalizability of results, especially for the development of clinical guidelines.
Indexed as
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.