TY - JOUR
T1 - Quality of life-related outcomes from a patient-tailored integrative medicine program
T2 - experience of Russian-speaking patients with cancer in Israel
AU - Sharabi, Ilanit Shalom
AU - Levin, Anna
AU - Schiff, Elad
AU - Samuels, Noah
AU - Agour, Olga
AU - Tapiro, Yehudith
AU - Lev, Efraim
AU - Keinan-Boker, Lital
AU - Ben-Arye, Eran
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
PY - 2016/10/1
Y1 - 2016/10/1
N2 - Objective: Complementary/integrative medicine (CIM) is increasingly being integrated with standard supportive cancer care. The effects of CIM on quality of life (QOL) during chemotherapy need to be examined in varied socio-cultural settings. We purpose to explore the impact of CIM on QOL-related outcomes among Russian-speaking (RS) patients with cancer. Patients and methods: RS patients undergoing chemotherapy receiving standard supportive care were eligible. Patients in the treatment arm were seen by an integrative physician (IP) and treated within a patient-tailored CIM program. Symptoms and QOL were assessed at baseline, at 6, and at 12 weeks with the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS), the Measure Yourself Concerns and Wellbeing (MYCAW) questionnaire, and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30). Results: Of 70 patients referred to the treatment arm, 50 (71.4 %) underwent IP assessment and CIM treatments. Of 51 referred to the control arm, 38 (76 %) agreed to participate. At 6 weeks, CIM-treated patients reported improved ESAS scores for fatigue (P = 0.01), depression (P = 0.048), appetite (P = 0.008), sleep (P < 0.0001), and general wellbeing (P = 0.004). No improvement was observed among controls. Between-group analysis found CIM-treated patients had improved sleep scores on ESAS (P = 0.019) and EORTC (P = 0.007) at 6 weeks. Social functioning improved between 6 and 12 weeks (EORTC, P = 0.02), and global health status/QOL scale from baseline to 12 weeks (EORTC, P = 0.007). Conclusion: A patient-tailored CIM treatment program may improve QOL-related outcomes among RS patients undergoing chemotherapy. Integrating CIM in conventional supportive care needs to address cross-cultural aspects of care. Trial registration: The study protocol was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01860365).
AB - Objective: Complementary/integrative medicine (CIM) is increasingly being integrated with standard supportive cancer care. The effects of CIM on quality of life (QOL) during chemotherapy need to be examined in varied socio-cultural settings. We purpose to explore the impact of CIM on QOL-related outcomes among Russian-speaking (RS) patients with cancer. Patients and methods: RS patients undergoing chemotherapy receiving standard supportive care were eligible. Patients in the treatment arm were seen by an integrative physician (IP) and treated within a patient-tailored CIM program. Symptoms and QOL were assessed at baseline, at 6, and at 12 weeks with the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS), the Measure Yourself Concerns and Wellbeing (MYCAW) questionnaire, and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30). Results: Of 70 patients referred to the treatment arm, 50 (71.4 %) underwent IP assessment and CIM treatments. Of 51 referred to the control arm, 38 (76 %) agreed to participate. At 6 weeks, CIM-treated patients reported improved ESAS scores for fatigue (P = 0.01), depression (P = 0.048), appetite (P = 0.008), sleep (P < 0.0001), and general wellbeing (P = 0.004). No improvement was observed among controls. Between-group analysis found CIM-treated patients had improved sleep scores on ESAS (P = 0.019) and EORTC (P = 0.007) at 6 weeks. Social functioning improved between 6 and 12 weeks (EORTC, P = 0.02), and global health status/QOL scale from baseline to 12 weeks (EORTC, P = 0.007). Conclusion: A patient-tailored CIM treatment program may improve QOL-related outcomes among RS patients undergoing chemotherapy. Integrating CIM in conventional supportive care needs to address cross-cultural aspects of care. Trial registration: The study protocol was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01860365).
KW - Chemotherapy
KW - Complementary and alternative medicine
KW - Cross-cultural
KW - Integrative medicine
KW - Quality of life
KW - Supportive care
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84966706447&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00520-016-3274-3
DO - 10.1007/s00520-016-3274-3
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C2 - 27169571
AN - SCOPUS:84966706447
SN - 0941-4355
VL - 24
SP - 4345
EP - 4355
JO - Supportive Care in Cancer
JF - Supportive Care in Cancer
IS - 10
ER -