Factors predicting the use of complementary and alternative therapies among cancer patients in Iran

This study was carried out to examine the factors that predicting the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among cancer patients in Tehran, Iran. Predicting factors included were patients’ demographic characteristics, type of cancer, the knowledge of diagnosis, time since diagnosis, satisfaction with their care physician, fear of recurrence and measures of anxiety, depression and global quality of life. In total, 625 cancer patients were studied, and 35% (n = 219) reported that they used or were using CAM. The most commonly used CAM was prayer and spiritual healing (n = 178, 75.7% of responses). The results of logistic regression analysis indicated that the use of CAM among cancer patients was associated with the fear of cancer recurrence (OR = 2.03, 95% CI = 1.45–2.85, P