TY - JOUR
T1 - Complementary and Integrative Medicine in Pancreatic Cancer
AU - Frenkel, Moshe
AU - David, Adi
AU - Sapire, Kenneth
AU - Hausner, David
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2023/3
Y1 - 2023/3
N2 - Purpose of Review: Pancreatic cancer has high mortality and morbidity rates, associated with the issues of typically late diagnosis and the limited effectiveness of current treatments. Patients tend to experience multiple symptoms that can include anxiety, fear, depression, fatigue, weakness, peripheral neuropathy, and abdominal pain, which reduce quality of life (QoL) and may compromise the treatment continuum. Many of those symptoms are amenable to complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) therapies as a part of supportive and palliative care. This article reviews research findings on the beneficial effect of use of CIM modalities in regard to pancreatic cancer, with emphasis on pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Recent Findings: Given the often-poor prognosis of the disease, patients with PDAC often seek integrative therapies to help manage the disease itself, to provide support through cancer treatment and its symptoms, and to provide emotional stress relief. Data is accumulating in the past few years on the potential benefits of CIM to the management of pancreatic cancer symptoms and treatment side effects, in order to augment supportive care. This data reveal that nutrition counselling; digestive enzyme therapy; microbiome support; dietary supplements; lifestyle interventions (physical activity and circadian health/sleep hygiene) appear to improve QoL of these patients through reduced symptom burden and meeting psychological needs, such as distress and fatigue. Acupuncture, mindfulness, yoga, reflexology, massage, and homeopathy may also contribute to symptom reduction, both physical and psychological, in all stages of the disease. Summary: There is supporting evidence that some CIM modalities may alleviate side effects and symptoms related to pancreatic cancer and its treatment, suggesting that practitioners might consider integrating these modalities in certain situations encountered in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Further investigation is needed to define the optimal integration of CIM into the treatment and supportive care of patients affected by pancreatic cancer.
AB - Purpose of Review: Pancreatic cancer has high mortality and morbidity rates, associated with the issues of typically late diagnosis and the limited effectiveness of current treatments. Patients tend to experience multiple symptoms that can include anxiety, fear, depression, fatigue, weakness, peripheral neuropathy, and abdominal pain, which reduce quality of life (QoL) and may compromise the treatment continuum. Many of those symptoms are amenable to complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) therapies as a part of supportive and palliative care. This article reviews research findings on the beneficial effect of use of CIM modalities in regard to pancreatic cancer, with emphasis on pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Recent Findings: Given the often-poor prognosis of the disease, patients with PDAC often seek integrative therapies to help manage the disease itself, to provide support through cancer treatment and its symptoms, and to provide emotional stress relief. Data is accumulating in the past few years on the potential benefits of CIM to the management of pancreatic cancer symptoms and treatment side effects, in order to augment supportive care. This data reveal that nutrition counselling; digestive enzyme therapy; microbiome support; dietary supplements; lifestyle interventions (physical activity and circadian health/sleep hygiene) appear to improve QoL of these patients through reduced symptom burden and meeting psychological needs, such as distress and fatigue. Acupuncture, mindfulness, yoga, reflexology, massage, and homeopathy may also contribute to symptom reduction, both physical and psychological, in all stages of the disease. Summary: There is supporting evidence that some CIM modalities may alleviate side effects and symptoms related to pancreatic cancer and its treatment, suggesting that practitioners might consider integrating these modalities in certain situations encountered in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Further investigation is needed to define the optimal integration of CIM into the treatment and supportive care of patients affected by pancreatic cancer.
KW - Acupuncture
KW - Complementary medicine
KW - Curcumin
KW - Dietary supplements
KW - Homeopathy
KW - Integrative medicine
KW - Mind–body medicine
KW - Nutrition
KW - Nutritional supplements
KW - Pancreatic cancer
KW - Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
KW - Physical activity
KW - Reflexology
KW - Touch therapies
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85147370564&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85147370564&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11912-023-01370-z
DO - 10.1007/s11912-023-01370-z
M3 - Review article
C2 - 36735141
AN - SCOPUS:85147370564
SN - 1523-3790
VL - 25
SP - 231
EP - 242
JO - Current oncology reports
JF - Current oncology reports
IS - 3
ER -