ABSTRACT
@#Objective: To investigate the effects of XIAOJI Decoction combined with FOLFOX chemotherapy on serum cytokine expression profile in patients with advanced colorectal carcinoma by liquid chip technology. Methods: Fourteen patients with advanced colorectal carcinoma, who met the inclusion criteria and were treated in the Department of Oncology, Higher Education Mega Center Hospital of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine during January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018 were retrospectively analyzed in this study. The patients were divided into chemotherapy group (n=7, treated with 5-Fluorouracil + Calcium Folic Acid+Oxaliplatin (FOLFOX)) and combined treatment group (n=7, treated with XIAOJI Decoction + FOLFOX) according to therapeutic scheme. The curative efficacy was evaluated after 6 treatment courses. The expression profile of cytokines in blood serum of patients was examined by liquid chip technology after every 2 courses. Results: Fourteen patients received a total of 84 cycles of therapy. Survival analyses showed that the progress-free survival time (PFS) and overall survival time (OS) of two groups couldn't be compared due to insufficient samples, although the combined treatment group had longer PFS (10 months vs 6 months) and OS (17 months vs 12 months) than the chemotherapy group.As to adverse reactions, the rates of leucopenia, diarrhea, nausea, peripheral neuritis and alopecia in two groups were comparable, while the severity in combined treatment group were lighter than that in chemotherapy group. In comparison with the combined treatment group, concentrations of serum BDNF and IL-2 were statistically higher in the chemotherapy group (P<0.05). By comparing the cytokine concentrations at different collection time points before and after the treatment, it showed that the concentration of serum IL-2 in chemotherapy group was higher than that in combined treatment group after 2 courses of treatment (P<0.05). In total, there were 19 cytokines showed a tendency to be higher in combined treatment group than chemotherapy group during different treatment periods. Conclusion: Combined treatment of XIAOJI Decoction with FOLFOX for advanced colorectal carcinoma is a treatment option worth exploring, and liquid chip analysis showed that the mechanism may be related to the reduction of serum LI-2 and BDNF levels in patients.