USE OF HERBAL REMEDIES AMONG CANCER AND TRANSPLANT PATIENTS IN THE TOWN OF PALERMO, SICILY

Concomitant use of herbal remedies may lead to toxicity or failure of conventional therapies in different patients. The objectives of this survey were to assess: (1) the prevalence of the use of vegetal remedies by cancer and transplanted patients (2) the level of communication about such use to the physicians (3) whether such use might be associated to adverse reactions or interactions with conventional drugs. The study was carried out on 100 consecutive cancer patients attending the outpatient medical oncology clinic of the University Hospital "P. Giaccone", Palermo and on other 100 transplanted patients who were hospitalized or followed up at ISMETT, Palermo. Another group was composed o…