Belief in and use of traditional Chinese medicine in Chinese patients with cancer receiving outpatient care

Introduction: Cancer is the leading cause of death in China. Studies have found positive effects of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as adjuvant therapy for cancer. The purpose of this study was to describe the belief in and use of TCM in Chinese patients with cancer receiving outpatient care, and explore factors influencing these two variables.Methods: A consecutive sample of 287 patients with cancer in an outpatient clinic were surveyed on their belief in TCM, previous use of TCM for non-cancer, and use of TCM for cancer. Descriptive statistics, correlations, and ordinal logistic regression (OLR) were used to analyze the data.Results: Participants had a strong belief in TCM for the treatment of both non-cancer and cancer. Over 50% of them had sometimes or often used TCM for a non-cancer illness and 84% of them used TCM as adjuvant therapy for cancer. OLR results demonstrated that belief in TCM for non-cancer and perceived effectiveness of herbs for cancer were significant predictors for belief in TCM for cancer, while income, number of prescribed herb names recalled and the total score of perceived effectiveness of TCM for cancer significantly predicted the total number of TCM modalities used for cancer.Conclusion: Chinese patients with cancer receiving outpatient care had strong beliefs in TCM. However, the beliefs were not associated with the use of TCM. Income, the total number of names recalled for the herbal prescription used, and the perceived effectiveness of TCM affected the number of TCM modalities patients used.