385 Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use in patients with cutaneous lymphoma

Abstract

Primary cutaneous lymphomas are a group of rare non-Hodgkin lymphomas that can cause significant morbidity and adversely affect patients’ quality of life (QoL). Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) includes therapies that are not part of traditional Western medical care. CAM therapies have demonstrated potential benefits in both cancer and skin disease, however, there are few studies examining patterns of CAM use among patients with cutaneous lymphoma (CL). We performed a cross-sectional study assessing CAM use and QoL in patients with CL via an electronic survey administered to patients via the Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation from February-April 2019. A total of 300 patient responses (67% female, mean age 57y) were included in analysis. The most common type of CL among respondents was mycosis fungoides (84%, n=246), followed by Sézary Syndrome (12%, n=35). A majority (58%) of patients reported using CAM for their CL, with 48% using CAM to treat their disease and 46% using CAM to manage their symptoms. The most commonly used CAM in our cohort were vitamins/minerals (32%), prayer/meditation (26%), diet (24%), and exercise/yoga (22%). QoL as assessed by the Skindex-16 and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) was worse among patients who reported CAM use; Skindex scores were 51 ± 27 among CAM users compared to 38 ± 26 for non-CAM users (p<0.001). Higher itch scores were reported by patients using CAM compared to non-users (37 ± 29 and 26 ± 26 respectively; p=0.002). CAM use is common among patients with CL, and CAM use is higher among those with worse itching and worse QoL.