Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the Management of Breast Cancer

What is the association of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) with survival in female patients with breast cancer?In this cohort study involving 2 157 219 women with breast cancer, those who combined traditional therapies, such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, endocrine therapy, and immunotherapy, with CAM therapies were less likely to receive endocrine therapy and radiation compared with patients treated exclusively with traditional therapies. Combination of CAM and traditional therapies was associated with higher mortality compared with being treated exclusively with traditional therapy.Findings of this study suggest that the use of CAM instead of traditional therapies could be associated with a reduction in survival in breast cancer, and further study is warranted.

Corresponding Author: Daniel J. Boffa, MD, MBA, Division of Thoracic Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, 330 Cedar St, BB205, PO Box 208062, New Haven, CT 06520 (daniel.boffa@yale.edu).

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