Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016:2016:3281968.
doi: 10.1155/2016/3281968. Epub 2016 Apr 10.

Chinese Herbal Medicine as Adjunctive Therapy to Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Xu Sun  1 , Xing Zhang  2 , Jia-Yun Nian  2 , Jiao Guo  2 , Yi Yin  3 , Gan-Lin Zhang  1 , Ming-Wei Yu  1 , Yi Zhang  1 , Xiao-Min Wang  1 , Guo-Wang Yang  1 , Lin Yang  1 , Pei-Yu Cheng  1 , Jin-Ping Li  4
Affiliations
Review

Chinese Herbal Medicine as Adjunctive Therapy to Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Xu Sun et al. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2016.

Abstract

Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been increasingly employed during therapy for breast cancer, but its efficacy remains a matter of debate. This systematic review examined randomized controlled trials to provide a critical evaluation of this treatment. The results demonstrated that the combined use of CHM with chemotherapy may improve the immediate tumor response and reduce chemotherapy-associated adverse events. Our findings highlight the poor quality of Chinese studies, and additional well-designed randomized controlled trials addressing the role of CHM are warranted. The lack of molecular-based evidence for CHM and Zheng has resulted in a limited understanding and acceptance of CHM and traditional Chinese medicine in Western countries. We believe that researchers should immediately explore a CHM-based cure, and CHM should be applied to routine care as soon as conclusive data are available.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study flow diagram of the selection process.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Risk of bias in included studies.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Summary of the risk of bias in included studies.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Immediate tumor response in breast cancer (CR + PR).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Funnel plot of immediate tumor response in breast cancer (CR + PR).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Nausea and vomiting during treatment for breast cancer (toxicity grades II–IV).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Funnel plot of nausea and vomiting during treatment for breast cancer (toxicity grades III-IV).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Nausea and vomiting during treatment for breast cancer (toxicity grades III-IV).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Reductions in WBCs during breast cancer treatment (toxicity grades I–IV).
Figure 10
Figure 10
Funnel plot of the reduction in WBCs during breast cancer treatment (toxicity grades I–IV).
Figure 11
Figure 11
Reduction in WBCs during breast cancer treatment (toxicity grades III-IV).
Figure 12
Figure 12
Reduction in platelets during breast cancer treatment (toxicity grades I–IV).
Figure 13
Figure 13
Reduction in hemoglobin during breast cancer treatment (toxicity grades I–IV).
Figure 14
Figure 14
Improvement in KPS during breast cancer treatment.
Figure 15
Figure 15
Funnel plot of improvement in KPS during breast cancer treatment.
Figure 16
Figure 16
Improvement and stabilization of performance status during breast cancer treatment.
Figure 17
Figure 17
Funnel plot of improvement and stabilization of performance status during breast cancer treatment.
Figure 18
Figure 18
KPS before breast cancer treatment.
Figure 19
Figure 19
KPS after breast cancer treatment.
Figure 20
Figure 20
CD3+ before treatment.
Figure 21
Figure 21
CD4+ before treatment.
Figure 22
Figure 22
CD8+ before treatment.
Figure 23
Figure 23
CD4+/CD8+ before treatment.
Figure 24
Figure 24
Natural killer cell level before treatment.
Figure 25
Figure 25
CD3+ after breast cancer treatment.
Figure 26
Figure 26
CD4+/CD8+ after breast cancer treatment.
Figure 27
Figure 27
Natural killer cell level after breast cancer treatment.
Figure 28
Figure 28
CD4+ after breast cancer treatment.
Figure 29
Figure 29
CD8+/CD8+ after breast cancer treatment.
Figure 30
Figure 30
CK-MB (U/L) after breast cancer treatment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Torre L. A., Bray F., Siegel R. L., Ferlay J., Lortet-Tieulent J., Jemal A. Global cancer statistics, 2012. CA Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 2015;65(2):87–108. doi: 10.3322/caac.21262. - DOI - PubMed
    1. You L., An R., Liang K., Wang X. Anti-breast cancer agents from Chinese herbal medicines. Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry. 2013;13(1):101–105. doi: 10.2174/138955713804484785. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Del Mastro L., Fabi A., Mansutti M., et al. Randomised phase 3 open-label trial of first-line treatment with gemcitabine in association with docetaxel or paclitaxel in women with metastatic breast cancer: a comparison of different schedules and treatments. BMC Cancer. 2013;13, article 164 doi: 10.1186/1471-2407-13-164. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Amadori D., Nanni O., Marangolo M., et al. Disease-free survival advantage of adjuvant cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil in patients with node-negative, rapidly proliferating breast cancer: a randomized multicenter study. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2000;18(17):3125–3134. - PubMed
    1. Rastogi P., Anderson S. J., Bear H. D., et al. Preoperative chemotherapy: updates of National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project Protocols B-18 and B-27. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2008;26(5):778–785. doi: 10.1200/jco.2007.15.0235. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources