Herbals, alternative therapies here to stay (except for that little thing called

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http://nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=57815 & n=dh34 & c=wokvpgxagwnympq

 

Herbals, alternative therapies here to stay

(Ed. except for that little thing called Codex)

 

 

03/02/2005 - More than a third of cancer patients in Europe use

complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), most often to increase

their body's ability to fight the disease, reveals the first

Europe-wide study of alternative medicine use.

 

Herbal medicines were by far the most commonly used CAM therapy, the

first choice in nine out of 14 countries surveyed by an international

research team.

 

Vitamins and minerals were also among the five most frequently used

therapies, according to the responses from nearly 1,000 patients.

 

The survey is important as it is one of the first attempts to examine

use of CAM therapies across Europe. The bulk of the literature on CAM

use by cancer patients comes from the US.

 

Writing in today's issue of the Annals of Oncology

(doi:10.1093/annonc/mdi110), the authors said CAM use was found to be

considerably lower than surveys reporting results from US samples,

where it is often well above 40 per cent.

 

But their results show that it is used to a sufficient extent – nearly

three quarters of cancer patients in Italy use some form of CAM – to

warrant an increase in funding for research and better integration

into mainstream healthcare services.

 

" Irrespective of what health professionals believe about CAM and how

dismissive they might be, our findings show that patients are using,

and will continue to use CAM, " write lead author Dr Alex Molassiotis

and colleagues.

 

" So, this will probably necessitate rethinking the provision of

medical and healthcare education, broadening our understanding of the

concept of medicine and working towards integrating into mainstream

healthcare services those CAM therapies for which there is evidence of

effectiveness, " they claim.

 

The survey was based on patient questionnaires issued by members of

the European Oncology Nursing Society in clinics in 14 countries. It

uses the US National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

definition of CAM, which includes Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine,

spiritual interventions like meditation and prayer, biological

therapies like supplements, body-based methods such as massage and

energy therapies like Reiki.

 

The results show that CAM users tend to be female (more than 60 per

cent), younger and more highly educated and that pancreatic, liver,

bone and brain cancer patients (ie patients with poor prognosis) use

CAM significantly more often than other patients.

 

In most countries around a third used CAM, with only Italy, the Czech

Republic and Switzerland showing high levels of use and Greece showing

very low levels (under 15 per cent).

 

Herbal medicines, by far the most commonly used therapy, escalated in

use from 5.3 per cent before cancer diagnosis to more than tripling

after diagnosis.

 

Most of the herbs used were specific to each country. For example

Turkish patients were most likely to use nettle leaves or tea, while

Scots most often reported the use of green tea. In Switzerland

patients opted for mistletoe while Serbians and Spanish reported use

of aloe vera. Israeli and English patients selected multivitamins.

 

Homeopathy was also a popular choice across the region – the most

commonly used therapy in Belgium – as well as medicinal teas.

 

Most patients said they used CAM because they wanted to increase their

body's ability to fight the disease (50 per cent), improve physical

well-being (40 per cent), or emotional well-being (35 per cent).

 

However, there were some differences in the reasons for using CAM and

the actual benefits experienced. For example, although the primary

reason for choosing CAM was to boost the ability to fight cancer only

22 per cent found it of benefit.

 

But overall, patients tended to be satisfied - the mean satisfaction

rating was 5.27 on a scale of 0-7, and the mean perceived

effectiveness rating was 5.04.

 

Dr Molassiotis, a reader in cancer and supportive care at the

University of Manchester School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work,

said the study had limitations arising from a variety of difficulties

in conducting Europe-wide research.

 

" Nevertheless, although CAM use in Europe is lower than in the US, our

study indicates that the average mean use in Europe has increased

since a review of 29 studies was published in 1998, " he said.

 

He added that research funding for CAM has increased but is still very

low – only around 0.31 per cent of all medical research funding in the

UK - and needs to be significantly increased.

 

" We cannot overemphasise the need to increase the evidence base of CAM

therapies using methodologies that are appropriate and sensitive. "

 

" It's also important from an economic point of view as CAM is a

multibillion Euro business – in fact the second biggest growth

industry – and some patients pay large sums out of their own pockets

to access it. "

 

He concluded that the EU needs to consider broader policies, common

laws and rationalisation of available legislation on CAM.