The Canadian/US Integrative Oncology Study (CUSIOS)
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The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details. |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02494037 |
Recruitment Status :
Active, not recruiting
First Posted : July 10, 2015
Last Update Posted : October 24, 2022
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Condition or disease |
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Breast Neoplasms Colorectal Neoplasms Pancreatic Neoplasms Ovarian Neoplasms |
It is estimated that between 50 and 80% of cancer patients in the United States (US) supplement their conventional oncology treatment regimen with some form of complementary or alternative medicine therapy or practice. A smaller percentage of these patients receive care from naturopathic doctors (NDs) who are board certified in naturopathic oncology (Fellows of the American Board of Naturopathic Oncology, FABNO) or have equivalent experience in caring for cancer patients and from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) providers with advanced training in oncology (DAOM or physicians with training in TCM). This level of care is being defined here as advanced integrative oncology (AIO). AIO clinics provide comprehensive science- and experience-based naturopathic and Chinese medical oncology integrated with each patient's conventional medical treatment.
Although there have been some studies of complementary and alternative medicine use by cancer patients, little is known about the effectiveness of the naturopathic medicine and TCM provided to people with cancer in an integrative setting. While there is scientific evidence supporting specific treatments that are commonly used, systematic study of their effectiveness (especially when used in combination as commonly recommended) is virtually non-existent. An early step in the evaluation of clinical outcomes associated with AIO is to take a health service approach and seek to answer the question: "Does exposure to AIO services improve the clinical outcomes of patients with advanced stage cancer?"
The survival outcome of advanced stage breast, colorectal, pancreatic, and ovarian cancer patients treated at multiple naturopathic oncology clinics in North America will be tracked and compared to outcomes from the SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results) database in order to address the fundamentally important question of whether or not AIO has a beneficial impact on survival. Involvement of a total of twelve clinics from Canada and the US will allow the recruitment of a sufficient sample size to address this question as well as provide outcomes that enhance the generalizability for AIO across North America.
Study Type : | Observational |
Actual Enrollment : | 400 participants |
Observational Model: | Case-Only |
Time Perspective: | Prospective |
Official Title: | The Canadian/US Integrative Oncology Study (CUSIOS): Advanced Integrative Oncology Treatment for Patients With Advanced Stage Cancer: A Prospective Outcomes Study |
Actual Study Start Date : | January 2015 |
Actual Primary Completion Date : | March 2022 |
Estimated Study Completion Date : | March 2023 |

- Survival [ Time Frame: From date of diagnosis of stage IV or metastatic disease to 3 years post enrollment ]To measure the survival of AIO-treated patients as compared to survival data from the SEER database
- Description of Integrative care [ Time Frame: At enrollment and up to 3 years ]AIO treatment recommendations for cancer and conventional oncology treatment data will be collected to describe the cancer treatments recommended and/or used by cancer patients across the treatment cohort. AIO treatment recommendations will be abstracted from AIO chart notes for all study participants for the first AIO clinic visit and up to 3 years. Concurrent conventional oncology treatment data will also be abstracted from conventional oncology medical charts.
- Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) [ Time Frame: At baseline and 3 and 6 months and 1, 2 and 3 years thereafter. ]Self-reported HRQOL data will be collected from a subgroup of Canadian AIO-treated patients who had at least two AIO visits within three months of first AIO clinic visit using validated questionnaires commonly used in integrative oncology research settings. Instruments to be used in the HRQOL assessment include the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire C30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) to measure general health status and function, Measure Yourself Concerns and Wellbeing (MYCaW) to identify cancer-related concerns, and Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) to assess common cancer symptoms.
- Cost of Cancer Care [ Time Frame: At baseline and 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years thereafter ]A sub group of Canadian AIO-treated patients will be enrolled to estimate direct healthcare, direct non-healthcare, and indirect non-healthcare costs from a societal perspective. This includes costs incurred by the healthcare payer (i.e. government or private insurers), the patient/family (i.e. co-payment or full payment for medicines and/or care) and by the society at large (i.e. costs of reduced productivity). Patients will self-report these costs using questionnaires developed by the research team in collaboration with a health economist.
- Qualitative Experience of Care (QEC) [ Time Frame: At baseline and 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years thereafter. ]A Sub group of Canadian AIO-treated patients and NDs at each Canadian clinic will be enrolled to understand the benefits and challenges of AIO care from a qualitative perspective. Through interviews conducted by a qualitative researcher, we will help to more fully understand the experiences of study participants and the subjective impact of naturopathic interventions both from the perspective of the study participants themselves and from the perspective of their ND.

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Ages Eligible for Study: | 18 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult) |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
Sampling Method: | Non-Probability Sample |
Inclusion Criteria:
- A new patient coming in for a first office call (FOC) with a participating site investigator for their cancer or a current patient whose FOC with a participating investigator for their cancer was after study start date of January 1, 2015
- ≥18 years of age
- Able to understand study design and provide signed informed consent to enrollment
- Confirmed diagnosis of one of the following cancers: stage 4/metastatic breast, stage 4/metastatic colorectal, stage 3 or 4/metasatic ovarian, or stage 3 or 4/metastatic pancreatic
- Canadian participants with a visit <3 months post-FOC are eligible for the HRQOL sub-study
- Participants must be governed by the laws of the country within which they are receiving AIO care
Exclusion Criteria:
- None

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT02494037
United States, Arizona | |
Naturopathic Specialists, LLC (NSL) | |
Scottsdale, Arizona, United States, 85251 | |
United States, Hawaii | |
Hawaii Integrative Oncology, Lokahi Health Center, Inc. (LHC) | |
Kailua, Hawaii, United States, 96740 | |
United States, Washington | |
Salish Cancer Center (SCC) | |
Fife, Washington, United States, 98424 | |
Seattle Integrative Cancer Center | |
Seattle, Washington, United States, 98057 | |
Advanced Integrative Medical Science (AIMS) Institute | |
Seattle, Washington, United States, 98102 | |
Bastyr Center for Natural Health | |
Seattle, Washington, United States, 98103 | |
Tree of Health Integrative Medicine | |
Woodinville, Washington, United States, 98072 | |
Canada, British Columbia | |
Integrated Health Clinic Cancer Care Centre | |
Fort Langley, British Columbia, Canada, V1M 2R4 | |
Vital Victoria Naturopathic Clinic Ltd. | |
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, V8X 3L8 | |
Canada, Ontario | |
HealthSource Integrative Medical Centre | |
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, N2H 2E6 | |
Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre (OICC) | |
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1Y 2E5 | |
Marsden Centre for Excellence in Integrative Medicine | |
Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, L4K 0G7 |
Principal Investigator: | Dugald Seely, ND, MSc | Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine | |
Principal Investigator: | Leanna Standish, ND, PhD, FABNO | Bastyr University |
Responsible Party: | The Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT02494037 |
Other Study ID Numbers: |
3974 |
First Posted: | July 10, 2015 Key Record Dates |
Last Update Posted: | October 24, 2022 |
Last Verified: | October 2022 |
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product: | No |
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product: | No |
Neoplasms Breast Neoplasms Colorectal Neoplasms Pancreatic Neoplasms Ovarian Neoplasms Neoplasms by Site Breast Diseases Skin Diseases Intestinal Neoplasms Gastrointestinal Neoplasms Digestive System Neoplasms Digestive System Diseases Gastrointestinal Diseases Colonic Diseases Intestinal Diseases |
Rectal Diseases Endocrine Gland Neoplasms Pancreatic Diseases Endocrine System Diseases Ovarian Diseases Adnexal Diseases Genital Diseases, Female Female Urogenital Diseases Female Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications Urogenital Diseases Genital Neoplasms, Female Urogenital Neoplasms Genital Diseases Gonadal Disorders |