Cancer Patients' Use of Traditional, Herbal and Alternative Medicine Is Declining – Why?

Traditional, herbal and alternative medicine products and practices are commonly used among cancer patients and may reflect individual and societal beliefs about cancer treatment. In the rest of this article, "traditional, herbal and alternative medicine" practices will be referred to simply as "alternative medicine".

Evaluating alternative medicine product use among cancer patients between 2006 and 2018, a recent article shows that this trend has declined in recent years. Let us consider the study details and possible reasons for this result.

Measuring a 10-Year Difference

The research divided cancer patients into 2 groups: the first was assessed for alternative medicine use between 2006 and 2008, and the second between 2016 and 2018.

This was a cross-sectional study asking about patients' personal and clinical information, the types of alternative medicine products used, their reasons for use and perceived benefits. Researchers compared changes in use patterns and other variables between the two groups.

Results

A total of 1416 patients were included: 464 in group 1 and 952 in group 2.

Group 1 was more likely than group 2 to use alternative medicine to treat cancer (84.4% versus 73%, respectively; p <0.0001).

Group 2's main purposes for using alternative medicine methods included pain control and improving appetite.

Disclosure of alternative medicine product use to oncologists did not change significantly over time and remained low, at 31.6% in group 1 and 35.7% in group 2.

However, doctors were more likely to express opposition to alternative medicine use in group 2 than in group 1 (48.7% versus 19.1%, respectively; p < 0.001). In other words, oncology doctors began taking a clearer stance against alternative medicine over time.

The authors concluded that alternative medicine use among cancer patients had changed significantly over a decade, reflecting social and cultural changes in this patient group.

Why Is Interest in Traditional, Alternative and Herbal Treatments Declining in Oncology?

The main reason is that advances in oncology are being recognized not only by scientists and doctors but also by patients and society.

Indeed, since 2010, in oncology, particularly through immunotherapies and targeted drugs, we have witnessed important contributions to patients' lives. There is still a long way to go before achieving complete cures for all cancers, but the progress made over a few decades against a disease older than human history is promising. In parallel, patients' focus has shifted toward accessing new treatments rather than alternative medicine products.