Complementary medicine in patients with head and neck cancer

Abstract

ObjectivesLiterature shows that up to 40 % of cancer patients use complementary medicine treatments. Most patients do not communicate the usage with their practitioner. There are no studies investigating the prevalence and extent of complementary medicine in head and neck cancer in Germany. Material and methodsPatients undergoing tumor aftercare in our department answered a questionnaire, that investigates subsets of demographic data, health behavior, cancerogenesis and complementary medicine. Data was evaluated in total and relative numbers. Also, Chi-squared test and Phi coefficient were performed to evaluate significant correlations. ResultsA total of 102 patients could be included in this study. In the analyzed collective 30 % of patients were interested in complementary medicine. Of those, 71 % have experienced complementary medicine treatments. There was a wide variety of modalities being used. None of the patients has talked with the doctors at tumor aftercare about this usage. Correlation of data showed that gender influenced i.a. health behavior and the usage of complementary medicine before cancer. ConclusionInvestigation revealed that a relevant number of head and neck cancer patients used complementary treatments, but no one talked about it during tumor aftercare. As a “blind spot” in anamnesis and diagnostic, evaluation of complementary medicine before tumor treatment and in aftercare are necessary to improve therapeutic outcome and to prevent potential negative influences like medication interactions.