Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol 16, 6-12, Copyright © 1998 by American Society of Clinical Oncology
Cancer patients use of nonproven therapy: a 5-year follow-up study
T Risberg, E Lund, E Wist, S Kaasa and T Wilsgaard
Institute of Community Medicine, and Department of Oncology, University Hospital of Tromso, Norway. terje.risber@ism.uit.no
PURPOSE: To investigate the prospective pattern of use of alternative
medicine, here called nonproven therapy (NPT), among oncologic patients
during a 5-year period, and the relationship between this use and survival,
a questionnaire-based follow-up study was performed at the Department of
Oncology, University of Tromso, from 1990 to 1996. PATIENTS AND METHODS:
Two-hundred fifty-two patients answered the first questionnaire during the
period July 1990 to July 1991. Eligible patients were mailed follow-up
questionnaires after 4, 12, 24 and 60 months. A telephone interview
performed after the last follow-up questionnaire showed little disagreement
with the prospective collected information as regards the number of
patients reported as users of NPT (kappa, 0.92). RESULTS: The number of
patients who reported ever using NPT in each cross-sectional part of the
study varied between 17.4% and 27.3%. However, the estimated cumulative
risk of being a user of NPT during the follow-up period was 45%.
Seventy-four percent of NPT users in this north Norwegian study population
used faith healing or healing by hand (spiritual NPT) alone or in
combination with other forms of NPT. The proportion of patients who used
spiritual versus nonspiritual forms of NPT was consistent throughout the
follow-up period. Women were more often users than men (50% v 31%, P =
.002). Patients older than 75 years of age seldomly used NPT. The 5-year
observed survival rate was not influenced by the use of NPT. Adjusted for
sex, age, and diagnosis, patients with a high educational level had a
borderline higher 5-year survival rate than patients with less education (P
= .06). CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that cross-sectionally designed
studies will underestimate the number of ever-users of NPT in a cancer
patient population. The use of NPT does not influence observed survival
among cancer patients seen in north Norway.
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