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Self-medication with herbal medicine and breast cancer survival: a prospective monocentric study

  • Original Article – Clinical Oncology
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Abstract

Purpose

The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is common among breast cancer patients, but less is known about whether CAM influences breast cancer survival. The primary aim of this study was to determine the impact of self-use of herbs on the overall survival.

Methods

This was a prospective study including 110 patients with breast cancer. All patients were questioned about the concept of taking herbs. We analyzed the demographic data and the overall survival.

Results

The average age was 51 years (30–80 years old). 37 had metastatic disease (33.6%). 48 patients had taken plants (43.6%). 19 patients consumed Graviola (39.6%) and 29 Alenda (60.4%). Overall survival at 3 years and at 5 years were, respectively, 96.2% and 82.4% in the absence of plant consumption versus 78.5% and 78.5% in case of plant consumption (p = 0.015).

Conclusion

This study concluded that self-medication with Graviola or Alenda may be associated with an increase of death risk in patients with breast cancer. Further studies are needed to confirm these results.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Oncology, Habib Bourguiba Hospital University of Sfax, 3029, Sfax, Tunisia

    Wala Ben Kridis, Ahmed Mnif, Souhir Khmiri, Nabil Toumi & Afef Khanfir

Authors
  1. Wala Ben Kridis
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  2. Ahmed Mnif
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  3. Souhir Khmiri
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  4. Nabil Toumi
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  5. Afef Khanfir
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wala Ben Kridis.

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All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and the national research committee of Habib Bourguiba and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Ben Kridis, W., Mnif, A., Khmiri, S. et al. Self-medication with herbal medicine and breast cancer survival: a prospective monocentric study. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 147, 3401–3407 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-021-03600-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-021-03600-y

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