Cancer patients who received complementary therapies are more likely to shun at least one component of their conventional cancer treatment, and as a result, raise their risk of dying early, findings of a new study have revealed

Higher Risk Of Death In Patients Who Refuse Recommended Care

Study researcher James Yu, from the Yale Cancer Center, and colleagues found that fewer of these patients survived five years starting treatment compared with their counterparts on standard care.

The researchers looked at the outcomes of patients diagnosed with breast, prostate, lung or colorectal cancer from 2004 to 2013 who received alternative medicine and found they have a higher risk of death.

They also found that despite receiving conventional cancer therapy, these patients were more likely to refuse to receive other aspects of standard and proven cancer treatments such as chemotherapy or surgery.

"In this cohort study of 1 901 815 patients, use of complementary medicine varied by several factors and was associated with refusal of conventional cancer treatment, and with a 2-fold greater risk of death compared with patients who had no complementary medicine use," the researchers wrote in their study published in JAMA Oncology on July 19.

Complementary Medicine

Complementary medicine, medical therapies that are beyond the scope of scientific medicine, becomes increasingly popular in the United States and are often used by cancer patients.

Many patients think that combining complementary medicine and standard medicine offer increased chances of a cure but there is limited research that evaluates the effectiveness of these alternative therapies.

"Past research into why patients use non-medical complementary treatments has shown the majority of cancer patients who use complementary medicines believe their use will result in improved survival," Yu said. "We became interested in this topic after we reviewed the literature, and found that there was scant evidence to support this belief."

Natural With Dangerous Side Effects

Study researcher Skyler Johnson, from Yale School of Medicine, said that some doctors believe complementary medicines could not hurt, but the study suggests there are some issues regarding these treatments.

He also cited evidence from earlier studies that show complementary approaches that are seen as natural and are believed safe may contain biologically active ingredients that can interact with cancer treatments, which make the latter less effective, or become more toxic, thus posing threat to the patient's health.

"We hope this information gives providers and patients pause to at least consider the chance that these complementary therapies might actually result in a detrimental effect," Johnson said.