Quick Poll results from the February Issue of OncoFacts 2008

Up to 68% of physicians are unaware of supplement use among their patients with cancer.

Discussion

The correct answer to the Quick Poll question is A – True.

Vitamin and mineral supplement use is thought to be common among the 10 million adults in the United States who have been diagnosed with cancer, but well-conducted studies are sparse. Questions of whether vitamin or mineral supplements can reduce adverse effects of cancer treatment, decrease chances of recurrence, and improve survival are of great interest to patients with cancer. Studies are inconsistent or inconclusive; therefore, guidance for clinicians and cancer survivors on the use of supplements is limited and can be vague and confusing.

The February 1, 2008, issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology includes a review article on this subject that presents a systematic summary of 32 studies addressing vitamin and mineral supplement use among US adult cancer patients and survivors.

Here are some of the statistics. Supplement use is widespread among patients and long-term survivors. In studies combining different cancer sites, 64% to 81% of survivors reported using any vitamin or mineral supplement and 26% to 77% reported using any multivitamin. In contrast, approximately 50% of US adults use dietary supplements and 33% use multivitamin/multimineral supplements. Between 14% and 32% of survivors initiate supplement use after diagnosis and use differs by type of cancer. Breast cancer survivors reported the highest use, whereas prostate cancer survivors reported the least. Higher level of education and female gender emerged as factors most consistently associated with supplement use. Up to 68% of physicians are unaware of supplement use among their patients with cancer.

These results highlight the need for further studies of the association between dietary supplement use and cancer treatment toxicity, recurrence, survival, and QOL to support evidence-based clinical guidelines for dietary supplement use among patients with cancer and long-term survivors.

 Ref: J Clin Oncol. 2008:26:665-673.

* The aggregate results from this question were compiled from the responses submitted by oncologists who participated in the OncoFacts Quick Poll monthly question.