Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Patients With Cancer and Immigration Background

Studies have shown that patients with cancer are more likely to use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) than noncancer patients for symptom relief and hope. We aimed to evaluate factors of race, ethnic groups, and immigration status in attitude of patients with cancer in seeking out CAM.

This is a prospective questionnaire study where information on demographics, cancer information, race/ethnicity, immigration duration, and psychosocial factors was correlated with the CAM use in a community cancer center located in the borough of Brooklyn, at New York City.

Among 658 patients, the prevalence of CAM use was 66.11%. CAM use was 71.98% in females and 54.34% in males (P = .113 × 10^-4). Patients of African descent had higher CAM use (72.73%) than the White patients (63.53%; P = .0371). There was no difference of CAM use between the US born (68.77%) and the immigrants (63.98%, P = .199) as a whole; however, comparing with the US born (66.50%), Asian-born immigrants had lower CAM use (53.77%, P = .0161), whereas Latin-American born had a numerical trend toward higher CAM use (74.83%, P = .0608). The number of years of living in the United States was not associated with more CAM use. Prayer and spirituality was the most common CAM subtype used (25.91%). There was no difference in CAM use in the respective non-White ethnic groups whether they were US born or non-US born.

In this cohort of patients with cancer enriched with immigration background, CAM use was the highest in African American patients. The use of CAM in the non-White patients was associated with their ethnic background, regardless whether they were US born or not. Cultural roots appeared to be a strong influencing factor for the usage of CAM.