title: The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Scandinavia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Complementary alternative medicine (CAM) is widely used among patients with cancer. This usage may have potentially harmful effects, especially when combined with anticancer drugs. However, some complementary methods may benefit patients. This review investigated the prevalence of CAM use among patients with cancer in Scandinavia and secondly studied the educational levels of CAM users compared to non-users.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic search of the PubMed library was carried out to locate articles published between January 2000 and October 2015 that investigated prevalence of CAM use among Scandinavian patients with cancer.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-two articles were found, of which nine were included in the review. The prevalence of CAM use was 7.9% to 53%, with an average of 36.0% across all studies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Use of CAM is widespread among patients with cancer. Knowledge about CAM should be disseminated to both patients and staff in order to optimise discussions about CAM in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research and Development, Gavle University Hospital, Gavle, Sweden Department of Radiation Sciences and Oncology, Umea University Hospital, Umea, Sweden Department of Radiology, Gavle University Hospital, Gavle, Sweden Jonas.Nilsson@regiongavleborg.se.
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Gavle University Hospital, Gavle, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Källman
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research and Development, Gavle University Hospital, Gavle, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ulrika
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Östlund
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research and Development, Gavle University Hospital, Gavle, Sweden Department of Oncology, Gavle University Hospital, Gavle, Sweden.
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Holgersson
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research and Development, Gavle University Hospital, Gavle, Sweden Department of Oncology, Gavle University Hospital, Gavle, Sweden Department of Radiation Sciences and Oncology, Umea University Hospital, Umea, Sweden.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bergqvist
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research and Development, Gavle University Hospital, Gavle, Sweden Department of Oncology, Gavle University Hospital, Gavle, Sweden.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bergström
mesh_terms: D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D015995:Prevalence; D012537:Scandinavian and Nordic Countries / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: CAM; Complementary alternative medicine; Scandinavia; review