Complementary treatment approaches are increasingly requested by cancer patients and survivors to reduce side effects of conventional cancer treatment and enhance health-related quality of life. As many patients do not disclose their complementary therapies use to their oncologist, treatment plans are often not coordinated. Thus, the risk of adverse events and interactions of complementary with conventional therapies is increased. An informed alliance of conventional and complementary treatment providers is important to optimize health outcomes and safety.

Integrative Oncology that combines conventional cancer treatment with evidence-based complementary therapies and mind/body medicine has become a growing field of health care that strives to serve this demand. In Integrative Oncology, conventional and complementary approaches are joined in a way that aims to optimize outcomes and prevent adverse events.

While the evidence for both conventional and complementary cancer treatments is increasing, only few studies have explicitly encountered an integrative viewpoint. The implementation of Integrative Oncology practice guidelines in 2007 (updated in 2009) has been an important milestone; however, more research is needed that investigates effectiveness, safety, and optimal design of Integrative Oncology interventions.

This special issue is dedicated to research that focuses on Integrative Oncology interventions that combine conventional and complementary approaches to optimize patients' health outcomes. Both original research and high-quality systematic reviews are welcome. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Conception, implementation process, and evaluation of Integrative Oncology programs
• Clinical trials of complementary therapies and/or mind/body medicine either alone or combined with conventional treatment
• Complementary approaches for managing side effects of cancer and/or conventional cancer treatment
• Interactions of complementary with conventional therapies
• Basic research on mechanisms and models of Integrative Oncology
• Patients' perceptions of Integrative Oncology programs

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/ecam/oncol/ according to the following timetable: