ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To find a more effective treatment of primary hepatocellular carcinoma by using combined therapy of Chinese herbal medicine with radiotherapy. METHODS: Prospective study was conducted with double-blind method on prognosis of patients treated with combined therapy of Xuefu Zhuyu decoction and move stripe field radiation on entire liver. A control group was established and treated with placebo and radiotherapy. RESULTS: The 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates of the test group were higher than those of the control group by 20.0%, 23.4% and 16.6% respectively. The remote metastatic rate of the two groups were not different significantly. CONCLUSIONS: Xuefu Zhuyu decoction showed coordinative effect with radiotherapy on antitumor, it could enhance the radiosensitivity of liver cancer cells, increase the radiation tolerance of normal hepatocytes and reduce the side effect of radiotherapy.
