Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38384965›Full record

ArticlePreventive medicine reports2024

Complementary and alternative medicine use among cancer patients in Iran: A systematic review.

Mohammad Yousefi, Hamid Reihani, Mojtaba Heydari, Ramin Nasimi Doost Azgomi, Mohammad Hashem Hashempur

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Preventive medicine reports, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed
12.2field-weighted citation impact, top 1% 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

11 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Trial
  3. Integrative oncology in clinical practice, research, and education: Middle-Eastern and global perspectives.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. The role of disease duration in the use of complementary and integrative medicine for cancer-related fatigue: a cross-sectional study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. New Therapy for Chronic Sarcoidosis withJournal of evidence-based integrative medicine
    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

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Mohammad YousefiStudent Research Committee, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Hamid ReihaniStudent Research Committee, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Mojtaba HeydariPoostchi Ophthalmology Research Center, Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Ramin Nasimi Doost AzgomiTraditional Medicine and Hydrotherapy Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran.
Mohammad Hashem HashempurResearch Center for Traditional Medicine and History of Medicine, Department of Persian Medicine, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Shiraz University of Medical Sciences · IRArdabil University of Medical Sciences · IR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Cancer patients frequently turn to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to mitigate the adverse effects of conventional cancer treatments, alleviate stress, manage comorbidities, and address the cancer itself. This systematic review aims to investigate descriptive studies conducted in Iran, focusing on the prevalence and methods of CAM use among cancer patients. Methods: A thorough search of PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Magiran, and the Scientific Information Database (SID) was conducted in both English and Persian from inception to July 2023. Inclusion criteria targeted studies exploring the frequency and patterns of CAM utilization among Iranian patients across diverse cancer types. Results: A total of 604 articles were found in the preliminary search, and 14 were included in this review. Among the 3,990 participants in the included studies, a weighted average of 51.83% (range 4.6%-100%) had used at least one CAM method. The most commonly used CAM methods were prayer (41.8%), medicinal herbs (30.1%), traditional and folk treatments (27.2%), bloodletting (17.3%), and hydrotherapy (13%). Patients reported using CAM for various reasons, including their beliefs, desire to cure the disease, reduce stress, positive past experiences, and improve physical condition. On average, 39% of patients informed their physicians about their CAM use. Conclusion: The findings underscore the relatively prevalent adoption of CAM by Iranian cancer patients. Given the low rate of disclosure to physicians, there is a compelling need for healthcare system vigilance and monitoring to ensure comprehensive patient care.

Indexed as

CancerComplementary therapiesIranNeoplasmPublic healthSystematic reviewTraditional Persian medicine

Identifiers

PMID38384965
PMCPMC10879774
OpenAlexW4391647634

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.