Potential of chemotherapy-herb interactions in adult cancer patients.

Goals Of Work: The purpose of this study was to examine the specific herbs or vitamins (HV) used by patients receiving chemotherapy. Specifically, the following aspects were investigated: (1) HV use among adult cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, (2) the frequency of potential chemotherapy-HV interactions, (3) communication patterns between oncologists and their cancer patients taking HV, and (4) patients' reactions to two hypothetical scenarios of chemotherapy-HV interactions.

Patients And Methods: Adult cancer patients receiving chemotherapy at a university-based outpatient clinic over a 1-month period were sent a validated eight-page questionnaire regarding the use of complementary/alternative medicine, focusing on HV use.