Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33990875›Full record

ArticleJournal of cancer survivorship : research and practice2022

Use of complementary or alternative medicine and potential interactions with chronic medications among Chinese survivors of childhood cancer.

Chun Sing Lam, Yi Man Cheng, Hoi Shan Li, Ho-Kee Koon, Chi Kong Li, Celeste L Y Ewig, Yin Ting Cheung

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
6.0field-weighted citation impact, top 4% 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

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

  1. Pooled it
  2. Effectiveness of home-based exercise programs in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A systematic review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
    Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. 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

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Chun Sing LamSchool of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Yi Man ChengSchool of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Hoi Shan LiSchool of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Ho-Kee KoonSchool of Chinese Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Chi Kong LiDepartment of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Celeste L Y EwigSchool of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong. celeste.ewig@cuhk.edu.hk.
Yin Ting CheungSchool of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong. yinting.cheung@cuhk.edu.hk.
Chinese University of Hong Kong · CN

Funding

Health and Medical Research Fund 03170047
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThis study explored the pattern of complementary or alternative medicine (CAM) use among Chinese survivors of childhood cancer and identified potential drug-CAM interactions and factors predicting CAM use.

methodsThis cross-sectional study recruited 393 survivors of childhood cancer (male, 57.8%; mean age, 17.7 [SD = 7.3] years; mean years post-treatment, 8.8 [SD = 5.0]) from a public hospital in Hong Kong. Participants reported CAM and over-the-counter medications that they used in the past year. Prescription drug data were extracted from pharmacy dispensing records. Potential interactions between concurrent CAM and chronic medications were identified from well-established CAM-drug/herb-drug interaction databases. A multivariate logistic regression was performed to analyze associations of socio-demographic and clinical factors with CAM use.

resultsHalf (n = 205/393, 52.2%) of the participants reported the use of CAM. The most popular CAMs were traditional Chinese medicine (n = 127/205, 62.0%) and natural products (n = 114/205, 55.3%). Among the 69 survivors (33.7%) concurrently using CAM and chronic medications, one-third (n = 21/69, 30.4%) were at risk of drug-CAM interactions that are of moderate significance. Adult survivors were more likely to use CAM than pediatric survivors (odds ratio [OR], 2.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.31-4.41). Brain tumor survivors were more likely than other solid tumor survivors to use non-oral therapies (OR, 2.70; 95% CI, 1.01-7.72).

conclusionsThe prevalence of CAM use among Chinese survivors of childhood cancer was high. A minority of survivors had a risk of clinically significant CAM-drug interactions. Future studies should focus on survivors' behavior and motivations for CAM use. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: As the concurrent use of CAM and chronic medications might result in interactions, healthcare providers should proactively identify such interactions and develop referral pathways to promote evidence-based integrative therapies for survivors.

Indexed as

Cancer SurvivorsComplementary TherapiesNeoplasmsAdolescentAdultChildChinaCross-Sectional StudiesHumansMaleSurvivorsCancer survivorsChronic medicationsComplementary therapiesHerb-drug interactionsPediatric oncology

Identifiers

PMID33990875
OpenAlexW3163503905

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.