3.1 Demographic and clinical information of cancer patients with herbal medicines
Of 315 cancer patients recruited for the study, 262 patients (83.2%; 95% CI: 78.6, 87.1) used at least one herbal medicine during chemotherapy courses and were included in this analysis. The mean ± SD age of cancer patients who used herbal medicines was 51.1±14.0 years (age range: 18 to 92). More than 70% of the patients were females (n=188, 71.8%) and urban residents (n=204, 77.9%). The majority of cancer patients were married (n=248, 94.7%). More than half of the patients were under diploma (n=152, 58.0%). Breast was the most prevalent cancer site among patients (n=98, 37.4%). Almost nearly half of the patients had metastatic cancers (n=117, 44.7%), but recurrence was not frequent among them (n=45, 17.2%). More than half of the patients suffered from comorbidities (n=138, 52.7%). Common complications among patients were nausea and vomiting (n=186, 71.0%), constipation and diarrhea (n=169, 64.5%) and pain (n=160, 61.1%) (Table 1).