Differences in Self-purchased Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use and Patient-reported Satisfaction between...

This study aimed to investigate demographic and clinical factors associated with use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and to compare CAM utilization patterns, including self-purchase behaviors and patient-reported satisfaction, between Korean women with female-specific and non-female-specific cancers. This exploratory subgroup analysis was conducted among female participants in a cross-sectional survey of Korean adults with solid tumors. Clinical and epidemiological characteristics were compared between CAM users and non-users. CAM use patterns-including reasons for use, initiation timing, duration, cost, self-purchase behavior, patient-reported satisfaction, and adverse effects-were compared between female-specific and non-female-specific cancers. Of the 150 female patients with solid tumors, 93 (62.0%) reported their use of CAM. The prevalence of CAM use was similar between patients with female-specific cancers (64.5%, 69/107) and those with non-female-specific cancers (55.8%, 24/43), with no statistically significant difference observed. However, patients with female-specific cancers were significantly more likely to self-purchase CAM than those with non-female-specific cancers (85.5% vs. 62.5%, P = 0.016). In addition, a higher proportion of patients with female-specific cancers reported high satisfaction with CAM use compared with patients with non-female-specific cancers (79.7% vs. 41.7%, P < 0.001). In multivariable analysis restricted to patients with female-specific cancers, high patient-reported satisfaction was independently associated with CAM use (OR, 5.96; 95% CI, 1.48-23.93; P = 0.012). Among patients with female-specific cancers, high patient-reported satisfaction was independently associated with CAM use, highlighting the psychosocial relevance of patient-initiated CAM behaviors beyond overall use prevalence.