Colorectal Cancer
Conditions
Keywords
colorectal cancer, Complementary and alternative medicine
Brief summary
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is defined by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine as "a group of diverse medical and health systems, practices and products that are not currently considered part of conventional medicine" (Complementary, Alternative, or Integrative Health, n. d. 2012). Complementary medicine is used to complement conventional medicine, and alternative medicine is used instead of conventional medicine (Dy et al., 2004). These are two very different approaches, whose consequences for a cancer patient can be completely different. The use of CAM is steadily increasing in most countries. A study carried out in France in 2017 revealed that for half of CAM users, the diagnosis of cancer was one of the main factors that led patients to turn to CAM (Sarradon-Eck et al., 2017). CAM use was found to be significantly associated with younger age, female gender and higher education (Sarradon-Eck et al., 2017). The source of information about MAC was mainly friends/family and the media, while doctors and nurses played a succinct role in MAC information (Molassiotis et al., 2005). The most frequently cited reasons for using CAM were to improve their physical well-being, strengthen their bodies, improve their emotional well-being and relieve the side effects of treatment (Sarradon-Eck et al., 2020). Another study carried out in 2019 at nine centers in France showed that 45% of glioma patients had changed their eating habits after glioma diagnosis, 44% were on complementary treatment, mainly vitamins and dietary supplements, and 32% were using alternative medicine, mainly magnetism and acupuncture. A total of 68% reported using at least one of these approaches (Le Rhun et al., 2019). Another single-center study conducted in France in 2019 found that 83% of cancer patients used CAM (M et al., 2019). CAM included osteopathy, homeopathy, acupuncture, therapeutic touch, magnetism, naturopathy, cupping, Chinese medicine, reflexology and hypnosis. However, no studies have been carried out to assess the use of CAM among colorectal cancer (CRC) patients in France.
Interventions
OTHERQuestionnaire CAM
Selected patients will answer a questionnaire about their practice and habits with regard to alternative and complementary medicines. Of these patients, 12 will also complete an additional qualitative questionnaire.
Sponsors
University Hospital, Limoges
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Over 18 years of age * Diagnosed with colorectal cancer * To be operated on between 2017 and 2022
Exclusion criteria
* The patient refuses to give consent to participate in the study * Non-primary colorectal cancer (metastasis to the colon or rectum from another primary cancer; cancer originating in the appendix) * Primary metastatic cancer other than colorectal cancer * Discovery of cancer synchronous with colorectal cancer * Guardianship or trusteeship * Cognitive disorders (Alzheimer's, dementia, etc.) * Severe psychiatric disorder (neurodevelopmental disorder, psychotic disorder, mood disorder, etc.) according to the specific DSM-5 and ICD-11 classifications * Severe deafness (unable to answer questions during telephone interview)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| MAC using | Month 2 | Proportion of patients treated at Limoges University Hospital for colorectal cancer (CRC) using MACs |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Demographic factors | Month 2 | Demographic factors associated with MAC use (Odds ratio) |
| Clinical factors | month 2 | Clinical factors associated with MAC use (Odds ratio) |
| Recurrence time | Month 2 | 3-year recurrence time for patients undergoing CRC surgery at Limoges University Hospital (Hazard ratio) |
| Quality of life | Month 2 | Quality of life assessed by QLQ C30 questionnaire (Odds ratio) |
| MAC information sources | month 2 | Description of MAC information sources (frequencies and percentages) |
| Reasons of using MAC | month 2 | Description of the reasons why patients use or do not use these practices (frequencies and percentages) |
| Effects perceived | month 2 | Description of effects perceived by MAC users (frequencies and percentages) |
| healthcare professionals' report on MAC | month 2 | Description of healthcare professionals' report on MAC use (frequencies and percentages) |
Countries
France
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORNiki CHRISTOU, MD
University Hospital, Limoges
Outcome results
None listed