A systematic review - Biologically-based complementary medicine use by people living with cancer - is a more clearly defined role for the pharmacist required?
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 21, 2026

In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation of Photocontrolled Biologically Active Compounds - Potential Drug Candidates for Cancer Photopharmacology
Published on: September 29, 2023
Trong Quy Le1, Lorraine Smith1, Joanna Harnett1
1Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
Background:
Biologically-based complementary medicines (BB-CMs) including herbal, vitamin, mineral and nutritional supplements are frequently taken by people living with cancer. Pharmacists play an important and clearly defined role in the provision of standard cancer treatment. Due to the non-prescription status and easy access to BB-CMs, the role of the pharmacist in communicating to people living with cancer about their use is less clearly defined.
Aim:
To explore the role of the pharmacist in communicating to people living with cancer about their use of BB-CMs.
Methods:
Eligible studies were identified in PubMed, Medline, EmBase, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts and Google Scholar. Articles published between 2003 and 2016 were included searching for "Complementary OR Herbal medicine OR vitamin OR nutritional supplement"; and "cancer OR oncology patient"; and "pharmacist role OR attitude OR belief OR communication".
Results:
BB-CM use is prevalent among people living with cancer for the management of side effects and are taken under the belief they are safe, natural and holistic. Fifty per cent of cancer patients do not disclose their BB-CM use to their physicians due to a perception that it will be discouraged and/or their physician will not be knowledgeable about BB-CMs. There are known drug-herb/nutrient interactions but interestingly pharmacists are the least consulted health care professional (HCP).
Conclusion:
With adequate knowledge about BB-CMs, pharmacists are well positioned as medication specialists to fill the current communication gap between people living with cancer and HCPs. Further research that informs the development of specific BB-CM guidelines for pharmacists in the management of cancer are required.
Related Concept Videos
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...
Pharmacovigilance
This process, termed pharmacovigilance, aims to detect, evaluate, and minimize harmful effects related to medication use. The data collection for pharmacovigilance depends on spontaneous reporting systems, where healthcare professionals or patients voluntarily report suspected ADRs.
In some cases, there...
Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics: Overview
Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast, controlled...
Measurement of Bioavailability: Pharmacodynamic Methods
Pharmacogenetic Phenotypes: Alterations in Pharmacokinetics, Drug Targets and Biologic Milieu
