[Complementary and alternative medicine use by lung cancer patients]

Complementary and alternative medicine (CMA) use is frequent among cancer patients. Only few results are available about lung cancer patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate how often the CMA were used by lung cancer patients and to define the type of CMA used.

Every lung cancer patients with an ongoing chemotherapy in the respiratory department of the University Hospital of Nancy were approached between November 2014 to July 2015. A detailed and anonymous survey was conducted and the socioeconomic characteristics were collected from medical records.

Ninety-one patients were questioned. On 82 patients having answered, 19.5 % had used at least a CMA. The main CMA used was the physical exercise in 50 % of the patients. CMA users were significantly younger with a mean age of 56.4 years versus 65.4 years (P=0.0007). More than half patients did not indicate to their specialist that they used a CMA. The main information source was the circle of acquaintances.

CMA use is frequent among lung cancer patients. The physical exercise is quoted most of the time among the various CMA. There is a real lack of communication on the subject between the physician and the patient. It is thus imperative that the pulmonologists give much interest to these practices in order to give better advices and to reinforce the patient-physician relationship.