Adherence of Patients With Breast Carcinoma and Gynecologic Genital Carcinoma in the Use of Integrative Therapy Recommendations.

BackgroundThis study aimed to evaluate differences in adherence to integrative therapy recommendations provided by the Consultation Service for Integrative Medicine (SIM) at the Women's Clinic of the University Hospital Erlangen, Germany, across patient subgroups. The study sought to identify opportunities for further optimization and refinement of the integrative care program.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, data of 120 women who visited the SIM consultancy were collected at the first presentation (Baseline) and after 3 to 6 months of therapy (Follow-Up) using standardized questionnaires. The adherence variable was defined as the proportion of integrative therapy methods implemented for at least four weeks of the total number of therapy recommendations received per patient. Differences in patient-reported adherence to integrative therapies among cohorts defined by demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, and tumor-related characteristics were evaluated using independent-samples t-tests and analyses of variance (ANOVA).ResultsThere was no significant difference in adherence with Integrative therapy recommendations in cohorts based on age, education, Body-mass-index (BMI), tumor localization and treatment modality. Factors significantly associated with lower adherence, were low physical activity, defined as self-reported absence of regular exercise, compared with patients reporting approximately 1 hour or 2-4 hours of exercise per week, and presence of distant metastases.ConclusionAdherence with SIM recommendations was significantly lower among patients with low physical activity levels, as well as among patients with distant metastatic disease. This shows that the treatment concepts of the SIM need to be adapted more individually and, in particular, body-based treatments need to be reviewed in order to make them accessible for patients with poorer physical condition.