Dietary and Herbal Supplement Use Among Patients with CLL

Authored by Ann Liu, PhD
Medically Reviewed by Brian Koffman, MDCM (retired), MSEd

The Bottom Line:

Dietary and herbal supplement use is common among patients with CLL, with half of patients reporting current or past use. Vitamins and minerals were the most commonly used supplements.

Who Performed the Research and Where Was it Presented:

Dr. Ilana Levy Yurkovski from Bnai-Zion Medical Center in Haifa, Israel, and colleagues published their findings in Leukemia and Lymphoma in February 2026.

Background:

Almost everyone with a disease like chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) / small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) wants to do something to improve their health. Many patients with CLL / SLL turn to complementary and integrative medicine as well as dietary and herbal supplements to support their traditional medical care. This study looked at dietary and herbal supplement use patterns among patients with CLL in Israel.

Methods and Participants:

This was a questionnaire study conducted in Israel in 2025. It included adult patients with CLL who lived in Israel and spoke Hebrew. The questionnaire consisted of 25 questions in the following areas: demographic background, medical condition, and dietary and herbal supplement use.

Results:

• A total of 267 patients completed the questionnaire (27% of patients who were approached).
• Half of the respondents were women. The average age was 67 years, and 73% had other health conditions.
• Half of the respondents reported current or past use of dietary and herbal supplements, with 30% using supplements on a daily basis.
• Supplement users were mostly women (65%) and had higher rates of complementary and integrative medicine use (56%).
• Supplements were categorized as vitamins and minerals, herbs and mushrooms, or non-vitamins / minerals. Commonly used supplements among patients with CLL are shown in the table below.

• Reasons patients gave for using dietary and herbal supplements included:
  • General / immune health (61%)
  • CLL treatment (24%)
  • Treatment of another health condition (19%)
  • Laboratory deficiency (13%)
  • Orthopedic problems (16%)
  • Gastrointestinal problems (14%)
• Patients reported receiving advice on supplements from physicians (42%), non-medical individuals (friends, relatives, naturopaths; 28%), and self-medication (17%).
• 65% of patients reported their supplement use to their physician.
• Reasons patients gave for not reporting their supplement use to their physician included: thinking this is important, not being a drug, and being natural.
• Among patients who did not use dietary and herbal supplements, common reasons given included perceived lack of efficacy and concerns regarding safety, including potential interactions and adverse effects.

Conclusions:

Dietary and herbal supplement use is common among patients with CLL, with half of patients reporting current or past use. Most patients reported taking supplements for general or immune health, and rates of communication with healthcare providers were high. While many patients took the initiative to report their supplement use to their physician, there was still a portion of patients who did not. Discussing supplement use with your healthcare provider is important because certain supplements such as St John’s wort, garlic oil, Panax ginseng, and Ginkgo biloba, may alter CYP3A4 detoxification enzyme activity and should not be taken with BTK inhibitors or venetoclax. Additionally, some supplements have primarily been tested in cell or animal models, and robust evidence in humans is lacking. Open communication with your healthcare provider is key to supporting your health and treatment.

Links and Resources:

The full article by Dr. Levy Yurkovski and colleagues can be found here: Use of dietary and herbal supplements and communication with hematologists regarding such use among patients with CLL: a national survey

Take care of yourself first.

Ann Liu, PhD