Clinical observation on prevention of chemotherapy infection in gastric cancer by moxa-stick moxibustion plus rhG-CSF and its effect on immune function / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

ABSTRACT

Objective: To observe the effect of moxa-stick moxibustion plus recombinant human granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) in preventing chemotherapy infection in gastric cancer and its effect on immune function. Methods: A total of 70 patients with gastric cancer treated by chemotherapy were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, with 35 cases in each group. The control group was given rhG-CSF, and the observation group was given additional moxa-stick moxibustion on the basis of rhG-CSF. Both groups were treated for 2 chemotherapy cycles, totally 6 weeks. The number of patients with infection, the duration of infection and the duration of continuous use of antibiotics were observed. The leukocytes and granulocytes counts, the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) were measured before and after treatment, and the levels of CD4, CD8 and natural killer (NK) cells were analyzed. Results: The infection rate of the observation group was significantly lower than that of the control group (P<0.05), and the duration of infection and the duration of continuous use of antibiotics were also shorter (P<0.05). After treatment, the leukocytes and granulocytes counts in the two groups were higher than those before treatment (all P<0.05). After treatment, the levels of TNF-α and IFN-γ of the patients in the two groups were improved (all P<0.05), and there were significant differences between the observation group and the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the numbers of CD4, CD8, and NK cells in the observation group increased significantly (all P<0.05), but the changes in the control group were not significant (P>0.05). Conclusion: Moxa-stick moxibustion plus rhG-CSF can significantly reduce the incidence and severity of chemotherapy infection in gastric cancer, increase the leukocytes and granulocytes counts, and regulate the levels of inflammatory factors, which may be related to the improvement of the immune function of the patients.