Effect of Selaginella combined with radiotherapy on nasopharyngeal carcinoma / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the Chinese herbal medicine Selaginella-induced radiosensitization of terminal nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally 180 patients with NPC were divided equally into 3 groups with the same radiotherapeutic protocols. The patients in group A received radiotherapy alone, those in group B were given daily Selaginella (30 g) prepared into 50 ml decoction during the entire course of radiotherapy, and those in group C had Selaginella 30 g daily in the late course of radiotherapy.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The complete remission rate of nasopharyngeal primary lesions in groups B and C was significantly higher than that in group A, with also significantly higher complete remission rates of the cervical lymph nodes. The acute toxicity of the skin and mucous membrane was milder in the latter two groups, but the differences were not significant.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Selaginella may induce radiosensitization for terminal NPC and does not increase the acute toxicity of radiotherapy.</p>

Clinical study on comprehensive treatment of primary liver cancer mainly with chinese medicinal perfusion/embolization / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the clinical efficacy and adverse reaction of comprehensive therapy mainly with Chinese anti-cancer medicinal perfusion/embolization and assisted with Chinese drug-therapy based on TCM Syndrome Differentiation in treating primary liver cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty-one patients with liver cancer were divided into the treated group and the control group. To the treated group turmeric oil microballoon, cinobufotalin, Aidi injection and iodized oil were given via hepatic artery perfusion/embolization, and to the control group chemotherapeutic agents and iodized oil were given for instead. Besides, both groups were given Chinese herbs according to TCM Syndrome Differentiation additionally.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The tumor inhibitory rate in the treated group and the control group was 77.78% and 69.57% respectively, with insignificant difference between them. The improvement of fatigue and anorexia in the treated group was better than that in the control group (P < 0. 05). The 6-month, 12-month and 24-month survival rate in the treated group and control group was 61.11% vs 56.62%, 27.78% vs 30.43% and 22.22% vs 26.09%, respectively, the difference between the two groups was insignificant. The occurrence of adverse reactions such as decreasing of white blood cells, platelet and hemoglobin, nausea and vomiting were obviously lower in the treated group than those in the control group (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Chinese anti-cancer medicinal perfusion/embolization has affirmative short-term clinical effect in treating primary liver cancer with few adverse reactions, which was tolerable to patients, but its long-term clinical efficacy needs further observation.</p>

Qualitative evaluation on literatures related with treatment of lung cancer with combined use of chemotherapy and Chinese herbs / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the quality of clinical literatures related with treatment of lung cancer with combined use of chemotherapy and Chinese herbs in respect of the scientific research design adapted.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>According to the "Scale for Quality and Information Evaluation of TCM Clinical Research Literature" formulated by the group of methodology of this article, the literatures related with lung cancer published between 1979 to 2000 were evaluated in respect of the randomization and controlling of the trial.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The method of randomization was not described in 93.7% of the literatures; problems or mistakes of randomized allocation existed in 2.5%, with no record about the state of dropped out or absconded cases in follow-up study in 29.1%, also no record about case screening was found in all the literatures. Besides, the blind trial method was seldom used, also some problems of key links concerning samples homogeneity and conclusion reasoning presented. All these bugs could influence quality of the randomized control trial.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Randomized control trial has been applied progressively in TCM clinical researches of lung cancer, however, there are still problems such as insufficiency of samples, and improving of the reliability and quality of the trial is needed.</p>

Effect of combination of syndrome differentiation depending treatment and chemotherapy on prognostic factors in treating mid-late patients with non-small call lung cancer / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of combination of Syndrome Differentiation (SD) depending treatment and chemotherapy on prognostic factors in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and twenty patients with NSCLC were randomly divided into the TCM group, the western medicine (WM) group and the combined TCM and WM (TCM-WM) group. Besides the conventional supporting and symptomatic treatment given to all the 3 groups, to the TCM group, Chinese drug medication according to patients' SD (intravenons injection, decoction or Xiaoji Decoction) was given, to the WM group chemorherapy was given, and to the TCM-WM group, all the treatment used in both TCM and WM group were given. The long-term efficacy was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method, the 24 prognostic factors that influencing survival rate were analyzed by COX regression model multiple factors analysis to screen the risk factor and protective factor.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The median survival period in the TCM group was 285.00 +/- 17.92 days, in the WM group was 265.00 +/- 1.80 days, insignificant difference was found between them (P > 0.05), that in the TCM-WM group was 359.00 +/- 7.00 days, which was longer than that in the above two groups with significance (P < 0.05). The half-year and 1-year survival rates in the TCM group were 84.4% and 18.1%, in the WM group 82.5% and 20.6%, and in the TCM-WM group 92.5% and 42.7%. The 1-year survival rate in the TCM-WM group was higher than that in the TCM and WM group with significant difference (P < 0.05). Analysis on 24 prognostic factors indicated that there was significant difference (P < 0.05) in influence of such factors on survival rate as clinical stage, lymph node invasion, complications, TCM Syndrome typing, lactate dehydrogenase, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), CA199, Karnofsky scoring before treatment, therapeutic method, total scores of quality of life, stability of treatment, CD3+, etc. The former seven were the risk factors for prognosis of midlate NSCLC patients, and the latter 5 the protective factors.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>TCM-WM treatment could prolong patients' survival period, elevate the long-term survival rate, it could be taken as one of the best comprehensive therapies for mid-late NSCLC patients who have missed the opportunity of surgical resection.</p>