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2015-01-01
2022-03-15
2023-12-01
400
NCT02494037
The Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine
The Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine
OBSERVATIONAL
The Canadian/US Integrative Oncology Study
This study describes the survival outcomes of advanced stage breast, colorectal, ovarian and pancreatic cancer patients receiving advanced integrative oncology (AIO) treatment at participating North American integrative oncology clinics. This study also aims to describe the integrative treatments recommended by naturopathic doctors (NDs) for these participants alongside their conventional care treatments. Sub-studies will evaluate health-related quality of life, cost of cancer care, and qualitative experience of care in a subset of Canadian participants.
It is estimated that between 50 and 80% of cancer patients in the United States (US) supplement their conventional oncology treatment regimen with some form of complementary or alternative medicine therapy or practice. A smaller percentage of these patients receive care from naturopathic doctors (NDs) who are board certified in naturopathic oncology (Fellows of the American Board of Naturopathic Oncology, FABNO) or have equivalent experience in caring for cancer patients and from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) providers with advanced training in oncology (DAOM or physicians with training in TCM). This level of care is being defined here as advanced integrative oncology (AIO). AIO clinics provide comprehensive science- and experience-based naturopathic and Chinese medical oncology integrated with each patient's conventional medical treatment. Although there have been some studies of complementary and alternative medicine use by cancer patients, little is known about the effectiveness of the naturopathic medicine and TCM provided to people with cancer in an integrative setting. While there is scientific evidence supporting specific treatments that are commonly used, systematic study of their effectiveness (especially when used in combination as commonly recommended) is virtually non-existent. An early step in the evaluation of clinical outcomes associated with AIO is to take a health service approach and seek to answer the question: ȭoes exposure to AIO services improve the clinical outcomes of patients with advanced stage cancer?" The survival outcome of advanced stage breast, colorectal, pancreatic, and ovarian cancer patients treated at multiple naturopathic oncology clinics in North America will be tracked and compared to outcomes from the SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results) database in order to address the fundamentally important question of whether or not AIO has a beneficial impact on survival. Involvement of a total of twelve clinics from Canada and the US will allow the recruitment of a sufficient sample size to address this question as well as provide outcomes that enhance the generalizability for AIO across North America.
These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.
| Study Registration Dates | Results Reporting Dates | Study Record Updates |
|---|---|---|
2015-07-03 | N/A | 2023-12-13 |
2015-07-07 | N/A | 2023-12-14 |
2015-07-10 | N/A | 2023-12 |
This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.
Primary Purpose:
N/A
Allocation:
N/A
Interventional Model:
N/A
Masking:
N/A
Arms and Interventions
| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
|---|
| Primary Outcome Measures | Measure Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Survival | To measure the survival of AIO-treated patients as compared to survival data from the SEER database | From date of diagnosis of stage IV or metastatic disease to 3 years post enrollment |
| Secondary Outcome Measures | Measure Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Description of Integrative care | AIO treatment recommendations for cancer and conventional oncology treatment data will be collected to describe the cancer treatments recommended and/or used by cancer patients across the treatment cohort. AIO treatment recommendations will be abstracted from AIO chart notes for all study participants for the first AIO clinic visit and up to 3 years. Concurrent conventional oncology treatment data will also be abstracted from conventional oncology medical charts. | At enrollment and up to 3 years |
| Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) | Self-reported HRQOL data will be collected from a subgroup of Canadian AIO-treated patients who had at least two AIO visits within three months of first AIO clinic visit using validated questionnaires commonly used in integrative oncology research settings. Instruments to be used in the HRQOL assessment include the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire C30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) to measure general health status and function, Measure Yourself Concerns and Wellbeing (MYCaW) to identify cancer-related concerns, and Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) to assess common cancer symptoms. | At baseline and 3 and 6 months and 1, 2 and 3 years thereafter. |
| Cost of Cancer Care | A sub group of Canadian AIO-treated patients will be enrolled to estimate direct healthcare, direct non-healthcare, and indirect non-healthcare costs from a societal perspective. This includes costs incurred by the healthcare payer (i.e. government or private insurers), the patient/family (i.e. co-payment or full payment for medicines and/or care) and by the society at large (i.e. costs of reduced productivity). Patients will self-report these costs using questionnaires developed by the research team in collaboration with a health economist. | At baseline and 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years thereafter |
| Qualitative Experience of Care (QEC) | A Sub group of Canadian AIO-treated patients and NDs at each Canadian clinic will be enrolled to understand the benefits and challenges of AIO care from a qualitative perspective. Through interviews conducted by a qualitative researcher, we will help to more fully understand the experiences of study participants and the subjective impact of naturopathic interventions both from the perspective of the study participants themselves and from the perspective of their ND. | At baseline and 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years thereafter. |
This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.
Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person’s general health condition or prior treatments.
Ages Eligible for Study:
ALL
Sexes Eligible for Study:
18 Years
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.
The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.
General Publications
No publications available
NPCF was founded on May 29, 2009 and is a 501(c)(3) organization. All donations are tax deductible.
The information and services provided by the National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation are for informational purposes only. The information and services are not intended to be substitutes for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation does not recommend nor endorse any specific physicians, products or treatments even though they may be mentioned on this site.
