Use of Alternative and Complementary Medicine by Colorectal Cancer Patients

NCT ID: NCT06779669

Last Updated: 2025-05-20

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 217 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-01-20
• Study Completion Date: 2025-10-25

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.

Conditions

Colorectal Cancer

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: OTHER
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Complementary and alternative medicine user

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.

Group Type: OTHER

Questionnaire CAM

Intervention Type: OTHER

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.

Interventions

Questionnaire 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.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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)

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

University Hospital, Limoges

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Niki CHRISTOU, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University Hospital, Limoges

Locations

limoges University Hospital

Limoges, , France

Countries

France

Other Identifiers

87RI24_0033 (ALTERNATIVCCR)

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id