Beuth, J., Schneider, B., Van Leendert, R., & Uhlenbruck, G. (2016). Large-scale survey of the impact of complementary medicine on side-effects of adjuvant hormone therapy in patients with breast cancer. In Vivo, 30, 73-75. 

Study Purpose

Assess effects of complementary treatment with a combination of sodium selenite, proteolytic plan enzymes, and Len culinaris lectin on side effects of hormone therapy

Intervention Characteristics/Basic Study Process

Women with breast cancer undergoing adjuvant hormone therapy were included in the analysis. Complementary treatments were used for four weeks.

Sample Characteristics

  • N = 729  
  • AGE: Not provided
  • FEMALES: 100%
  • CURRENT TREATMENT: Other
  • KEY DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Breast cancer
  • OTHER KEY SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS: Patients were included in analysis if symptom scores were at least 3 on a six-point scale

Setting

  • SITE: Single site   
  • SETTING TYPE: Outpatient    
  • LOCATION: Germany

Phase of Care and Clinical Applications

PHASE OF CARE: Active anti-tumor treatment

Study Design

Retrospective observational

Measurement Instruments/Methods

Symptom severity scored from 1 (no side effects) to 6 (extreme side effects)

Results

After four weeks of treatment, mean score for arthralgia went from 4.83 to 3.23 (p < 0.001). Women also experienced less mucosal dryness (p < 0.001). There were no severe adverse effects reported.

Conclusions

Findings suggest that the complementary intervention assessed here may be beneficial in reducing symptoms of arthralgia induced by adjuvant hormonal therapy in women with breast cancer without significant side effects.

Limitations

  • Risk of bias (no control group)
  • Risk of bias (no blinding)
  • Risk of bias (no random assignment)
  • Unintended interventions or applicable interventions not described that would influence results
  • Measurement/methods not well described
  • Measurement validity/reliability questionable
  • Other limitations/explanation: Use of other interventions for pain control are not discussed. It is not clear how and when symptoms were actually measured.

Nursing Implications

This study has several design limitations, but does suggest that the complementary therapy with sodium selenite, proteolytic enzymes, and L culinaris might be helpful in reducing some side effects of adjuvant hormonal therapy.