Cancer Doctors Don't Discuss Herbs, Supplements With Patients

Many physicians cite a lack of knowledge as a primary reason, survey finds

By Mary Elizabeth Dallas

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Jan. 5, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Despite concerns about potentially dangerous interactions between cancer treatments and herbs and other supplements, most cancer doctors don't talk to their patients about these products, new research found.

Fewer than half of cancer doctors -- oncologists -- bring up the subject of herbs or supplements with their patients, the researchers found. Many doctors cited their own lack of information as a major reason why they skip that conversation.

"Lack of knowledge about herbs and supplements, and awareness of that lack of knowledge is probably one of the reasons why oncologists don't initiate the discussion," said the study's author, Dr. Richard Lee, medical director of the Integrative Medicine Program at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

"It's really about getting more research out there and more education so oncologists can feel comfortable having these conversations," Lee said.

The study was published recently in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

People with cancer often turn to herbs and other dietary supplements in an attempt to improve their health and cope with their symptoms, according to background information in the study.

Although herbs and supplements are often viewed as "natural," they contain active ingredients that might cause harmful interactions with standard cancer treatments. Some supplements can cause skin reactions when taken by patients receiving radiation treatment, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). Herbs and supplements can also affect how chemotherapy drugs are absorbed and metabolized by the body, according to the ACS.

St. John's wort, Panax ginseng and green tea supplements are among those that can produce potentially dangerous interactions with chemotherapy, according to the study.

For the current survey, the researchers asked almost 400 oncologists about their views and knowledge of supplements. The average age of those who responded was 48 years. About three-quarters of them were men, and about three-quarters were white, the study noted.

The specialists polled talked about supplements with 41 percent of their patients. However, doctors initiated only 26 percent of these discussions, the researchers found.

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High Blood Sugar in Heart Failure Patients May Point to Risk of Early Death

Even normal but slightly elevated levels can signal trouble, study notes

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Checking the blood sugar levels of emergency department patients with heart failure can identify those at risk of diabetes, hospitalization and early death, a new study suggests.

This increased risk was true even if patients had blood sugar (glucose) levels within what is considered normal limits, the researchers said.

"Our findings suggest that the measurement of blood sugar levels in all patients arriving at emergency departments with acute heart failure could provide doctors with useful prognostic information and could help to improve outcomes in these patients," study leader Dr. Douglas Lee, said in a journal news release. Lee is a senior scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and an associate professor of medicine at the University of Toronto.

Researchers reviewed data on more than 16,500 seniors treated for acute heart failure. The seniors -- aged 70 to 85 -- were treated at hospital emergency departments in Ontario, Canada, between 2004 and 2007.

"Among patients without pre-existing diabetes, the majority (51 percent) had blood glucose levels on arrival at hospital that were within 'normal' limits but greater than 6.1 millimoles per liter (mmol/L)," Lee said. In the United States, that reading is equivalent to about 110 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).

Among patients with no prior diagnosis of diabetes, the risk of death within a month was 26 percent higher among patients with slightly elevated blood sugar levels compared to those with normal blood sugar levels. People whose blood sugar levels were nearly high enough to meet the criteria for a diabetes diagnosis had a 50 percent higher risk of death within a month compared to those with normal blood sugar levels, the researchers reported.

The risk of death from cardiovascular disease was also higher among those who had raised blood sugar readings, even if they were just slightly raised above normal, the study found.

Anyone whose blood sugar levels were above normal had an increased risk of developing diabetes later. And, the higher someone's hospital blood sugar reading was, the greater the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

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