Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Therapeutic Massage for Psychological Well-being in Geriatric Oncology
Published on: May 22, 2026
[Use of complementary and alternative medicine by cancer patients: systematic review]
Cristiane Spadacio1, Nelson Filice de Barros
1Programa de Pós-graduação em Saúde Coletiva, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brasil. cris.spadacio@gmail.com
Abstract:
Interest in complementary and alternative medicine has increased, especially among oncology patients. A systematic literature review of the profile of patients who choose to use this type of medicine, as well as their motivations, was carried out on the PubMed database. For this search, the key words used were ?cancer and complementary alternative medicine? and ?oncology and complementary alternative medicine?, covering the period between 1995 and 2005. The selection criteria were the following: key words were present in the article title; article was written in either English, Portuguese, or Spanish; and study was performed with an adult population. From the 43 articles analyzed, it could be concluded that the use of complementary and alternative medicine is part of these patients? social scope. Moreover, its use plays an important role in the identity construction of cancer patients, helping them to make decisions related to conventional treatment.
Related Concept Videos
Cancer Survival Analysis
Combination Therapies and Personalized Medicine
The combination of the drug acetazolamide and sulforaphane is a good example of combination therapy to treat cancer. The cells in the interior of a large tumor often die due to the hypoxic and...
Cancer Therapies
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...
Tumor Immunotherapy
Targeted Cancer Therapies
There are several types of targeted therapies against specific...