Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies

Complementary and alternative medicine research examines the use of herbal remedies, traditional practices, and non-conventional therapies alongside or in place of standard medical care, with particular attention to how patients with serious illnesses like cancer integrate these approaches into their treatment. Because many people use herbal products without informing their clinicians, a central concern is identifying adverse reactions and interactions with conventional drugs—gaps that remain difficult to close given inconsistent regulatory oversight and limited clinical trial data. Researchers are working to establish rigorous safety monitoring frameworks and to understand why use rates have risen steadily across diverse populations, which requires tracking shifting cultural attitudes alongside pharmacological evidence. Open questions include how to reliably assess efficacy for products that vary widely in composition, and how healthcare systems can support honest disclosure between patients and providers without discouraging help-seeking.

Works

91,413

Total citations

708,453

Keywords

Herbal MedicineComplementary MedicineAlternative MedicineAdverse ReactionsSafety MonitoringDrug Interactions