Dtsch Med Wochenschr. 1986 Feb; 111(8): 283-7.

[The use of paramedical treatment methods by cancer patients. A inquiry on 101 ambulatory patients]

Obrist R, von Meiss M, Obrecht JP.

In an anonymous inquiry 101 consecutive tumour patients and their doctors were questioned on the use of treatment methods and preparations without proven efficacy. 32 patients stated they were using such preparations and methods. Three-quarters of the patients had adopted the following dietetic measures, in descending order of frequency: beetroot juice (34%), vitamins (22%), lactic acid or herbal products (9% each). Iscador (mistletoe extract) was used by 21%, and homoeopathic preparations by 6%. Patients' estimate of the total cost, in 69% of cases, was below 300 Swiss francs, but in one case it exceeded 1200. There was no difference in the use or non-use of the products in regard to the doctor's assessment of the prognosis, age, the therapeutic success according to established medical criteria, or the diagnosis and its correct appreciation by the patient. Male patients employed these methods or preparations significantly more often (43%) than female patients (22%); such patients also showed a higher incidence of severe suffering from side effects of chemotherapy (19% vs. 7%), especially nausea. The use of Iscador was known to the doctor in 71% of the cases, whereas the use of the other methods and preparations was known in only 25%.