title: Complementary therapy use in patients with glioma: an observational study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Despite novel multimodal therapeutic approaches, the vast majority of glial tumors are not curable. Patients may search for complementary therapies in order to contribute to the fight against their disease or to relieve symptoms induced by their brain tumor. The extent of the use of complementary or alternative therapies, the patients' rationale behind it, and the cost of complementary therapy for gliomas are not known. We used a questionnaire and the database of the German Glioma Network to evaluate these questions.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 621 questionnaires were available for evaluation from patients with glial tumors of WHO grades II to grade IV. The patients were recruited from 6 neuro-oncologic centers in Germany. Complementary therapy was defined as methods or compounds not used in routine clinical practice and not scientifically evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty percent of the responding patients reported the use of complementary therapies. Significant differences between the group of complementary therapy users and nonusers were seen with respect to age (younger > older), gender (female > male), and education (high education level > low education level). The motivation for complementary therapy use was not driven by unsatisfactory clinical care by the neuro-oncologists, but by the wish to add something beneficial to the standard of care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In clinical practice, patients' use of complementary therapies may be largely overseen and underestimated. The major motivation is not distrust in conventional therapies. Neuro-oncologists should be aware of this phenomenon and encourage an open but critical dialogue with their patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg 20246, Germany. heese@uke.uni-hamburg.de
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Heese
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nickel
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Goldbrunner
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Tonn
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bähr
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Steinbach
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schramm
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Krex
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schackert
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Reithmeier
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nikkhah
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Löffler
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weller
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Westphal
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D005910:Glioma / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019370:Observation; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome