Phytotherapy in Cancer Patients: Survey Conducted in Two Hospitals in Dakar (Senegal)

Abstract

In Africa and Asia, cancer mortality is proportionally higher than in other regions of the world, certainly due to poorer access to care, but also because the incidence of cancers with a worse prognosis is higher. Faced with this situation and as a therapeutic alternative, some cancer patients resort to traditional medicine, hence the use of whole plants or plant parts as herbal drugs. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 80% of the African population still relies on Traditional Medicine (TM) for primary health care. It is in this context that this study was conducted at the General Hospital Idrissa POUYE of Grand Yoff (HOGIP, Dakar/Senegal), in order to identify the different plants used by cancer patients. Private interviews were conducted to collect ethnobotanical data on medicinal plants used during chemotherapy. For this purpose, a questionnaire was prepared. The survey involved 102 patients in the ENT and surgery departments. Plants were identified based on their vernacular names. This study allowed us to identify 37 species distributed across 23 families and 34 genera. The most numerous family was Fabaceae. The study revealed a high prevalence of phytotherapy use (87.25%). The most cited species in our study was Annona muricata L. with a citation percentage of approximately 20.83%, followed by Moringa oleifera Lam. (16.67%), then Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Fuss (11.25%), and finally Guiera senegalensis J.F. Gmel (10.42%). The preparation method with multi-use (simultaneous use of infusions, decoctions that they often mixed with known and/or unknown powders, hence the term multi-use) was predominant (48.31%). Oral administration was the most commonly used route (94.38%). Leaves were the plant parts most used by patients (83.15%). Regarding dosage, the majority of respondents (33.71%) took their remedies twice a day. The main source of supply for medicinal plants was purchase at the market (51.58%). Finally, most patients were satisfied with the use of medicinal plants (42.82%). These results offer interesting perspectives for the development of Traditionally Improved Medicines (TIM) based on the results of clinical studies that need to be conducted.