Limited use of complementary and alternative medicine in Israeli head and neck cancer patients.
OBJECTIVE
The use of complementary or alternative medicine (CAM) is growing among cancer patients. A Medline search failed to reveal any dedicated report of CAM use specifically in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC).


METHODS
Use of CAM was evaluated in a cohort of treated HNC patients.


METHODS
Patients treated for HNC were asked if they had used CAM since their diagnosis. Demographic data and data pertaining to mode of CAM, duration of treatment and effects were obtained.


RESULTS
One hundred forty-three patients (mean age 61 years) were included. Only nine patients (6.3%) reported using disease related CAM. This included acupuncture (4), Reiki (2), naturopathy (2), hypnosis (1), shiatsu (1), chiropractic treatment (1), homeopathy (1), and selenium (1).


CONCLUSIONS
Contrary to the reported use, few of our HNC patients used CAM. Although this could be related to good caregiver-patient relationship, further studies in comparable populations are warranted to evaluate if this is a local or a pervading finding in head and neck cancer patients.
Talmi
Yoav P
YP
Departments of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel. yoav.talmi@sheba.health.gov.il
Yakirevitch
Arkadi
A
Migirov
Lela
L
Horowitz
Zeev
Z
Bedrin
Lev
L
Simon
Zvi
Z
Pfeffer
M Raphael
MR
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016019:Survival Analysis