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      Use of Complementary Traditional Chinese Medicines by Adult Cancer Patients in Taiwan: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

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          Abstract

          Background. Many patients with cancer seek complementary and alternative medicine treatments. We investigated the use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) by adult cancer patients in Taiwan. Methods. We reviewed the Registry for Catastrophic Illness Patients Database of Taiwan, and included all adult patients diagnosed cancer, based on the International Classification of Diseases (ninth revision), from 2001 to 2009 and followed until 2011. This database allowed categorization of patients as TCM users (n = 74 620) or non-TCM users (n = 508 179). All demographic and clinical claims data were analyzed. Results. Compared with non-TCM users, TCM users were younger and more likely to be female, white-collar workers, and reside in highly urbanized areas. The average interval between cancer diagnosis and TCM consultation was 15.3 months. The most common cancer type was breast cancer in TCM users (19.4%), and intrahepatic bile duct cancer in non-TCM users (13.6%). The major condition for which TCM users visited clinics were endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases, and immunity disorders (23.2%). A total of 33.1% of TCM users visited TCM clinics more than 9 times per year and their time from diagnosis to first TCM consultation was 5.14 months. The most common TCM treatment was Chinese herbal medicine. The common diseases for which cancer patients sought TCM treatment were insomnia, malaise and fatigue, dizziness and headache, gastrointestinal disorders, myalgia and fasciitis, anxiety, and depression. Overall, TCM users had a lower adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) for mortality (aHR = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.68-0.70) after adjustment for age, sex, urbanization of residence, occupation, annual medical center visits, and annual non–medical center visits. Conclusions. This study provides an overview of TCM usage among adult cancer patients in Taiwan. TCM use varied among patients with different types of cancer. Physicians caring for cancer patients should pay more attention to their patients’ use of complementary TCM.

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          Use of complementary and alternative medicine in cancer patients: a European survey.

          The aim of this study was to explore the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in cancer patients across a number of European countries. A descriptive survey design was developed. Fourteen countries participated in the study and data was collected through a descriptive questionnaire from 956 patients. Data suggest that CAM is popular among cancer patients with 35.9% using some form of CAM (range among countries 14.8% to 73.1%). A heterogeneous group of 58 therapies were identified as being used. Herbal medicines and remedies were the most commonly used CAM therapies, together with homeopathy, vitamins/minerals, medicinal teas, spiritual therapies and relaxation techniques. Herbal medicine use tripled from use before diagnosis to use since diagnosis with cancer. Multivariate analysis suggested that the profile of the CAM user was that of younger people, female and with higher educational level. The source of information was mainly from friends/family and the media, while physicians and nurses played a small part in providing CAM-related information. The majority used CAM to increase the body's ability to fight cancer or improve physical and emotional well-being, and many seemed to have benefited from using CAM (even though the benefits were not necessarily related to the initial reason for using CAM). Some 4.4% of patients, however, reported side-effects, mostly transient. It is imperative that health professionals explore the use of CAM with their cancer patients, educate them about potentially beneficial therapies in light of the limited available evidence of effectiveness, and work towards an integrated model of health-care provision.
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            Nationwide Population Science: Lessons From the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database.

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              How many cancer patients use complementary and alternative medicine: a systematic review and metaanalysis.

              No comprehensive systematic review has been published since 1998 about the frequency with which cancer patients use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). MEDLINE, AMED, and Embase databases were searched for surveys published until January 2009. Surveys conducted in Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, and the United States with at least 100 adult cancer patients were included. Detailed information on methods and results was independently extracted by 2 reviewers. Methodological quality was assessed using a criteria list developed according to the STROBE guideline. Exploratory random effects metaanalysis and metaregression were applied. Studies from 18 countries (152; >65 000 cancer patients) were included. Heterogeneity of CAM use was high and to some extent explained by differences in survey methods. The combined prevalence for "current use" of CAM across all studies was 40%. The highest was in the United States and the lowest in Italy and the Netherlands. Metaanalysis suggested an increase in CAM use from an estimated 25% in the 1970s and 1980s to more than 32% in the 1990s and to 49% after 2000. The overall prevalence of CAM use found was lower than often claimed. However, there was some evidence that the use has increased considerably over the past years. Therefore, the health care systems ought to implement clear strategies of how to deal with this. To improve the validity and reporting of future surveys, the authors suggest criteria for methodological quality that should be fulfilled and reporting standards that should be required.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Integr Cancer Ther
                Integr Cancer Ther
                ICT
                spict
                Integrative Cancer Therapies
                SAGE Publications (Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA )
                1534-7354
                1552-695X
                30 June 2017
                June 2018
                : 17
                : 2
                : 531-541
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Graduate Institue of Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
                [2 ]Department of Chinese Medicine, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Chia-Yi, Taiwan
                [3 ]Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
                [4 ]Health Data Management Office, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
                [5 ]School of Post-Baccalaureate Chinese Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan
                [6 ]Department of Biotechnology, Asia Univeristy, Taichung, Taiwan
                Author notes
                [*]Hung-Rong Yen, Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, 2 Yude Road, North District, Taichung, 404, Taiwan. Email: hungrongyen@ 123456gmail.com
                [*]Chia-Chou Yeh, Department of Chinese Medicine, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Chia-Yi, Taiwan. Email: yehcc0530@ 123456gmail.com
                [*]

                These authors are co–first authors.

                Article
                10.1177_1534735417716302
                10.1177/1534735417716302
                6041896
                28665160
                a78206d8-04de-4ce2-8428-c66e3051920b
                © The Author(s) 2017

                This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License ( http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages ( https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

                History
                : 30 October 2016
                : 29 March 2017
                : 14 April 2017
                Categories
                Research Articles

                acupuncture,cancer,complementary and alternative medicine,national health insurance research database,traditional chinese medicine

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