This scoping review set out to summarize the research literature describing complementary and alternative medicine in breast cancer. Searches were conducted of 5 electronic databases, relevant journals (hand searched), and conference abstracts. Researchers screened titles and abstracts for papers describing examples of complementary and alternative medicines and its approaches in cancer care. English-language articles were included, and papers were published in the past 10 years. From the articles located, descriptive data were extracted according to two main concepts: psychological and physical benefits of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in breast cancer patients and survivors and the effect of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) on quality of life among breast cancer patients and survivors. Of the 1,453 studies through various search strategies, 11 were relevant to our objectives and included in a final analysis. The studies reviewed suggests that complementary and alternative medicine and its relevant approaches are potentially beneficial to people’ psychological and physical well-being, as well as their quality of life in the breast cancer population. Research on CAM suggests its potential effectiveness on people’s psychological and physical well-beings. To test out the effectiveness of CAM in a comprehensive manner, more rigorous research is needed.

Yue Teng, Ian Beech. A Scoping Review of the Effectiveness of Complementary and Alternative Medicine on People with Breast Cancer. International Journal of World Medicine (2023), Vol. 4, Issue 1: 21-34. https://doi.org/10.38007/IJWM.2023.040104.

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