Cancer. 2015 Jul 15;121(14):2303-13. doi: 10.1002/cncr.29382. Epub 2015 Apr 14.
- 1Hospitalist Services, Essentia Health, Brainerd, Minnesota.
- 2Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee.
- 3Division of Hematology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
- 4Hematology and Cellular Therapy Department, Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris, France.
Abstract
The widespread use of complementary and alternative
medicine (CAM) in cancer survivors is well known despite a paucity of
scientific evidence to support its use. The number of survivors of
hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) is growing rapidly and HCT
clinicians are aware that many of their patients use CAM therapies
consistently. However, due to a paucity of data regarding the benefits
and harms of CAM therapies in these survivors, clinicians are reluctant
to provide specific recommendations for or against particular CAM
therapies. A systematic literature review was conducted with a search
using PubMed, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Ovid
online for each CAM therapy as defined by the National Center of Complementary and Alternative
Medicine. The search generated 462 references, of which 26 articles
were deemed to be relevant for the review. Due to extensive
heterogeneity in data and limited randomized trials, a meta-analysis
could not be performed but a comprehensive systematic review was
conducted with specified outcomes for each CAM therapy. In randomized
controlled trials, certain mind and body interventions such as
relaxation were observed to be effective in alleviating psychological
symptoms in patients undergoing HCT, whereas the majority of the other
CAM treatments were found to have mixed results. CAM use is an
understudied area in HCT survivorship and clinicians should convey the
benefits and uncertainties concerning the role of CAM therapies to their
patients.
© 2015 American Cancer Society.
KEYWORDS:
complementary and alternative medicine (CAM); hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT); quality of life; survivors
