Use of alternative medicine not uncommon in melanoma patients

About one in four cutaneous melanoma patients use at least one type of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), of which herbs and turmeric are the most popular, reveals a prospective study from a tertiary cancer centre in Turkey.

A team of investigators examined the extent of CAM use and compared sociodemographic as well as clinical characteristics between users and nonusers among melanoma patients. One hundred patients who were seen in outpatient clinics participated in this survey.

Of the participants, 27 used at least one type of CAM, the majority of which were herbs (73 percent). Turmeric (curcumin) turned out to be the most popular in use either alone or together with various other herbs (41 percent).

Living in rural areas significantly correlated with CAM use (p=0.02). More than half of the patients cited intent to cure the disease as the most common reason for using CAM. Their primary source of information regarding CAM was either a family contact or a close friend (44 percent).

In general, CAMs were used in conjunction with conventional anticancer treatment modalities (64 percent) and were ingested on a regular basis (72 percent). CAMs were also highly accessible through regular herbal stores (88 percent).

Patients encountered almost no adverse effects with CAM use, and most of them (71 percent) expressed confidence in CAM. In addition, nearly half of the participants consulted with their physicians regarding CAM use.