Complementary and Alternative Medicine Usage Among Participants Enrolled in Phase I Oncology Clinical Trials

Primary Objective:

· The primary objective is to estimate the prevalence of use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in patients with advanced malignancies who are seen in the Phase I clinic at MDACC.

Secondary Objective:

· Examine the association between prevalence of CAM use and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics (age, gender, race, income, and education level), participation in a phase I clinical trial, disease characteristics (diagnosis), patients' perceptions about their prognosis, physicians' information and permission for patients' CAM use, decision-making, and types of CAM used by patients.

This survey study is intended to estimate the prevalence of use of CAM in patients who are currently being treated in the Phase I Clinical Trials Program at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. The survey includes questions about socioeconomic characteristics (age, gender, race, income, and education level), patients' diagnosis and patients' perceptions about their prognosis, physicians' information and permission for patients' use of CAM, patients' use of CAM (yes or no), decision-making (purpose of CAM use), resources and types of CAM.

Patients will be asked to drop the questionnaire into a box in a specified location after completion of the questionnaire. Accrual is expected to be 50-100 patients per month. This survey is expected to finish in 6 months.

Current participation in a UT MDACC Phase I Clinical trial with a clinical diagnosis of advanced malignancy.

Inclusion Criteria:

1) Patients with a clinical diagnosis of advanced malignancy who are seen in the Phase I clinic.

Exclusion Criteria:

1) Presence of any clinically relevant condition that, in the opinion of the investigator/ coordinator, would interfere with completing the study including, but not limited to, visual problems, cognitive impairment or acute mental illness.