Complementary therapies: Overview and state of the art

Studies to determine the prevalence of complementary and alternative medici ne (CAM) use among cancer patients show international interest in a wide co llection of therapies and a broad span of use, ranging from 7% to 64% of pa tients sampled. The absence of consistent results across studies is due pri marily to differing definitions of unconventional cancer therapies from stu dy to study. Treatments promoted as alternatives to mainstream cancer cures (e.g., the recently disproved "cancer cure" of Italy's Dr. Di Bella) shoul d be distinguished from complementary therapies, which are applied as adjun cts to mainstream care in an integrated fashion. The latter include mind-bo dy techniques and herbal remedies, among many other remedies, all aimed at symptom control and enhanced quality of life. This differentiation provides a clearer understanding of CAM activity and enables selective evaluation o f CAM's clinical effects. It permits us to avoid accepting or rejecting all of CAM out of hand. Health care professionals as well as patients and thei r families have become increasingly knowledgeable about complementary thera pies that cart be helpful to patients with cancer. Many such therapies have been well studied (meditation, tai chi), and others remain highly question able (homeopathy, electromagnetics). Their benefits and potential problems are reviewed.