Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Radiotherapy
Patients - Results of a German Multicenter Study Reviewer:
Heather Jones, MD Last Modified: October 9, 2002 Presenter:
Micke, Oliver Presenter's Affiliation: Department of
Radiotherapy, Münster University Hospital, Münster Type of
Session: Scientific The use of complementary and alternative
medicine (CAM) is a frequent phenomenon among cancer patients.
Currently there is only limited knowledge about the patterns of
use in patients undergoing radiotherapy for malignant diseases.
In this study the German Working 'Trace Elements and
Electrolytes in Radiation Oncology' performed a multicenter
evaluation in Germany to evaluate the use of CAM in cancer
patients in addition to radiotherapy. Materials and Methods - A
total of 1013 patients (476 female, 537 male) from 5
institutions participated in the study - All patients were
receiving radiation therapy for a biopsy proven malignancy -
Tumor parameters and the use of CAM where evaluated as well as,
the re