Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd 2016; 76 - FV024
DOI: 10.1055/s-0036-1593261

Interest in integrative medicine among postmenopausal hormone receptor-positive breast cancer patients receiving letrozole treatment in the EvAluate-TM study

CC Hack 1, PA Fasching 1, T Fehm 2, 3, J de Waal 4, M Rezai 5, B Baier 4, G Baake 6, HC Kolberg 7, M Guggenberger 8, M Warm 9, 10, N Harbeck 3, 11, R Wuerstlein 3, 11, JU Deuker 12, P Dall 13, B Richter 14, G Wachsmann 15, C Brucker 16, JW Siebers 17, N Fersis 18, T Kuhn 19, C Wolf 20, HW Vollert 21, GP Breitbach 22, W Janni 23, R Landthaler 24, A Kohls 25, D Rezek 26, T Noesselt 27, G Fischer 28, S Henschen 29, T Praetz 30, V Heyl 31, T Kühn 32, T Krauß 33, C Thomssen 34, A Hohn 35, H Tesch 36, C Mundhenke 37, A Hein 1, C Rauh 1, CM Bayer 1, A Jacob 38, K Schmidt 38, E Belleville 39, P Hadji 40, SY Brucker 3, D Wallwiener 3, D Paepke 41, S Kümmel 42, MW Beckmann 1
  • 1Frauenklinik des Universitätsklinikums, Erlangen, Deutschland
  • 2Frauenklinik, Düsseldorf, Deutschland
  • 3Frauenklinik, Tübingen, Deutschland
  • 4Klinikum, Dachau, Deutschland
  • 5Luisenkrankenhaus Düsseldorf, Klinik für Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe, Düsseldorf, Deutschland
  • 6Onkologische Praxis, Pinneberg, Deutschland
  • 7Marienhospital Bottrop gGmbH, Bottrop, Deutschland
  • 8Klinikum, Tuttlingen, Deutschland
  • 9Frauenklinik der Universitätsklinik, Köln, Deutschland
  • 10Holweide Hospital, Köln, Deutschland
  • 11Frauenklinik der Ludwig-Maximillians-Universität, München, Deutschland
  • 12Vinzenzkrankenhaus, Hannover, Deutschland
  • 13Städtisches Krankenhaus, Lüneburg, Deutschland
  • 14Elblandkliniken Meißen-Radebeul GmbH & Co. KG, Radebeul, Deutschland
  • 15Kreiskrankenhaus, Böblingen, Deutschland
  • 16Frauenklinik, Nürnberg, Deutschland
  • 17St. Josefs Hospital, Offenburg, Deutschland
  • 18Frauenklinik, Bayreuth, Deutschland
  • 19Karl-Olga-Krankenhaus, Stuttgart, Deutschland
  • 20Medizinisches Zentrum, Ulm, Deutschland
  • 21Klinikum, Friedrichshafen, Deutschland
  • 22Städtisches Klinikum, Neunkirchen, Deutschland
  • 23Frauenklinik Universitätsklinikum, Ulm, Deutschland
  • 24Gynäkologische Praxis Kreisklinik Krumbach, Krumbach, Deutschland
  • 25Evangelisches Krankenhaus Ludwigsfelde-Teltow, Ludwigsfelde, Deutschland
  • 26Marien-Hospital, Wesel, Deutschland
  • 27Frauenklinik Kreiskrankenhaus, Hameln, Deutschland
  • 28Krankenhaus, Mittweida, Deutschland
  • 29Johanniter Krankenhaus, Stendal, Deutschland
  • 30Caritas Krankenhaus, Bad-Mergentheim, Deutschland
  • 31Asklepios Paulinen Klinik, Wiesbaden, Deutschland
  • 32Frauenklinik, Esslingen, Deutschland
  • 33Frauenklinik Lippe-Detmold, Detmold, Deutschland
  • 34Frauenklinik Universitätsklinikum Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Deutschland
  • 35Kreiskrankenhaus, Rendsburg, Deutschland
  • 36Onkologie Bethanien, Frankfurt, Deutschland
  • 37Frauenklinik Universitätsklinikum, Kiel, Deutschland
  • 38Novartis Pharma GmbH, Nürnberg, Deutschland
  • 39Clin-Sol GmbH, Würzburg, Deutschland
  • 40Krankenhaus Nordwest, Frankfurt, Deutschland
  • 41Technische Universität München, Klinikum rechts der Isar, München, Deutschland
  • 42Brustzentrum Klinikum Essen-Mitte, Essen, Deutschland

Background: Breast cancer patients make frequent use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), but few prospectively collected data are available specifically for postmenopausal breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant antihormonal therapy. The aim of the study was to identify the characteristics of patients who are interested in integrative medicine (IM).

Methods: The EvAluate-TM study is a prospective noninterventional study, in which treatment with letrozole was evaluated in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive primary breast cancer. 5,045 patients were enrolled at 339 certified breast centers. As part of the data collection process, patients were asked at the baseline about their interest in and information needs about IM.

Results: 3,411 patients responded to the questionnaire on IM and took part in the analysis. 1,583 patients expressed an interest in IM. Relevant predictors of interest in IM were age, body mass index, tumor size, previous chemotherapy, and use of concomitant medications for other medical conditions. Interest in IM declined highly significantly (P < 0.001) with age. In addition, these women were mostly interested in receiving information about their disease from a physician.

Conclusions: This study shows that postmenopausal women have a strong interest in IM. Information about IM should therefore be included in patient care for this patient group. Especially the patients receiving concomitant medication, which is one of the main predictors for women not being interested in IM, may need special attention. In addition, most patients were interested in obtaining the relevant information from their doctor, indicating that responsibility for this lies with the treating physicians.