Table 1.
Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine by BQUAL Participants at Study Enrollment, by Chemotherapy Clinical Indication, and Chemotherapy Initiation
| Characteristic | No. (%) | P Valuea | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Sample (n = 685) | Chemotherapy Indicated (n = 306) | P Valuea | Chemotherapy Discretionary (n = 379) | ||||
| Initiated (n = 272) | Did Not Initiate (n = 34) | Initiated (n = 135) | Did Not Initiate (n = 244) | ||||
| Current use of any CAMb | 598 (87) | 234 (86) | 32 (94) | .28 | 114 (84) | 218 (89) | .19 |
| Dietary supplements | 482 (70) | 169 (62) | 30 (88) | .002 | 96 (72) | 187 (77) | .32 |
| Vitamins and/or minerals | 246 (36) | 75 (28) | 24 (71) | <.001 | 51 (38) | 96 (39) | .83 |
| Herbs and/or botanicals | 287 (42) | 98 (36) | 17 (50) | .13 | 56 (42) | 116 (48) | .28 |
| Other natural products | 284 (41) | 107 (39) | 18 (53) | .14 | 45 (34) | 114 (47) | .02 |
| Mind-body practices | 483 (71) | 197 (72) | 22 (65) | .42 | 88 (66) | 176 (72) | .20 |
| Self-practicec | 458 (67) | 184 (68) | 21 (62) | .56 | 85 (63) | 168 (69) | .30 |
| Practitioner-basedd | 164 (24) | 70 (26) | 10 (29) | .68 | 28 (21) | 56 (23) | .70 |
| CAM Indexe | |||||||
| 0 | 87 (13) | 38 (14) | 2 (6) | .001 | 21 (16) | 26 (11) | .49 |
| 1 | 164 (24) | 75 (28) | 10 (29) | 31 (23) | 48 (20) | ||
| 2 | 173 (25) | 69 (25) | 3 (9) | 37 (27) | 64 (26) | ||
| 3 | 144 (21) | 48 (18) | 9 (27) | 28 (21) | 59 (24) | ||
| 4 | 88 (13) | 33 (12) | 3 (9) | 14 (10) | 38 (16) | ||
| 5 | 29 (4) | 9 (3) | 7 (21) | 4 (3) | 9 (4) | ||
Abbreviations: BQUAL, Breast Cancer Quality of Care Study; CAM, complementary and alternative medicine.
P values were calculated utilizing χ2 tests and Fisher exact test.
CAM use is defined as the current use of any of the following five modalities: vitamins and/or minerals, herbs and/or botanical, other natural products, self-practice mind-body therapies, and practitioner-based mind-body therapies.
For example, yoga and meditation.
For example, acupuncture, massage, and reiki.
The CAM index is based on the sum of the score of using each of the following five modalities: vitamins/minerals, herbs/botanical, other natural products, self-practice mind-body therapies, and practitioner-based mind-body therapies.