• Emergence of a rigorous evidence paradigm for complementary medicine, foregrounding acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine through NIH consensus, systematic reviews, and mechanistic studies that test efficacy and safety [4], [6], [10], [14], [18].

• Clinical integration and education: CAM is increasingly embedded in medical education and patient-care discourse, with curricula adoption, documentation of CAM use in encounters, and patient-centered attitudes toward integrative care [7], [11], [13], [15], [16], [17].

• Cancer-focused CAM patterns reveal prevalence and oncology implications, highlighting higher utilization in cancer care, patient attitudes, and the need for oncology teams to address CAM in care plans [1], [3], [13], [15], [17].

• Therapeutic modalities and mechanisms in focus: acupuncture and electroacupuncture mechanisms, antiemetic properties, and headache relief; this theme bundles clinical trials and pharmacologic studies of traditional Chinese medicine interventions [5], [6], [14], [18], [20].

• Ethnopharmacology and plant-based therapies: classification of healing potential of medicinal plants, eczema trials with traditional Chinese medicines, and broader ethnopharmacological approaches to natural products [8], [9], [19].