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. 2020 Dec 9:10:599073.
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2020.599073. eCollection 2020.

Chinese Herbal Medicine for Reducing Chemotherapy-Associated Side-Effects in Breast Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Sha Li  1 , Tsz-Him So  2 , Guoyi Tang  1 , Hor-Yue Tan  1 , Ning Wang  1 , Bacon Fung Leung Ng  3 , Chris Kam Wa Chan  4 , Edwin Chau-Leung Yu  5 , Yibin Feng  1
Affiliations

Chinese Herbal Medicine for Reducing Chemotherapy-Associated Side-Effects in Breast Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Sha Li et al. Front Oncol. .

Abstract

Background: Chemotherapy usually induces a variety of side-effects in cancer treatment as it cannot tell normal cells apart from cancer cells and kills both. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been regarded as a potential effective intervention for relieving the side-effects of chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.

Objective: This study aims to conduct a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of CHM as adjuvant therapy for reducing the chemotherapy-induced side-effects in the treatment of breast cancer.

Methods: Main electronic databases were searched up to May 2020 for Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) evaluating the effect of CHM on breast cancer patients with chemotherapy. The PRISMA statement was adopted in this study and meta-analyses were performed.

Results: The included studies showed unsatisfied quality. Results based on available literature indicated that the adjunctive use of CHM with chemotherapy may reduce the chemotherapeutic agents-associated adverse events, including nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, alopecia, myelosuppression, and impaired immune function.

Conclusion: A confident conclusion could not be have due to the lack of large scale and high quality trials.

Keywords: breast cancer; chemotherapy; herbal medicine; meta-analysis; side effect.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study flow diagram.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Risk of bias graph.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Risk of bias summary.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest plot of CINV in patients of breast cancer (toxicity grades 0–II).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Funnel plot of CINV in patients of breast cancer (toxicity grades 0–II).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Forest plot of CINV in patients of breast cancer (toxicity grades III–IV).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Funnel plot of CINV in patients of breast cancer (toxicity grades III–IV).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Forest plot of diarrhea in patients of breast cancer (toxicity grades III–IV).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Funnel plot of diarrhea in patients of breast cancer (toxicity grades III–IV).
Figure 10
Figure 10
Forest plot of constipation in patients of breast cancer (toxicity grades III–IV).
Figure 11
Figure 11
Funnel plot of constipation in patients of breast cancer (toxicity grades III–V).
Figure 12
Figure 12
Forest plot of alopecia in patients of breast cancer (toxicity grades III–IV).
Figure 13
Figure 13
Funnel plot of alopecia in patients of breast cancer (toxicity grades III–IV).
Figure 14
Figure 14
Forest plot of WBC reduction in patients of breast cancer (toxicity grades III–IV).
Figure 15
Figure 15
Funnel plot of WBC reduction in patients of breast cancer (toxicity grades III–IV).
Figure 16
Figure 16
Forest plot of blood platelet reduction in patients of breast cancer (toxicity grades III–IV).
Figure 17
Figure 17
Funnel plot of blood platelet reduction in patients of breast cancer (toxicity grades III–IV).
Figure 18
Figure 18
Forest plot of CD3+ in patients of breast cancer after chemotherapy.
Figure 19
Figure 19
Forest plot of CD4+ in patients of breast cancer after chemotherapy.
Figure 20
Figure 20
Forest plot of CD8+ in patients of breast cancer after chemotherapy.
Figure 21
Figure 21
Forest plot of CD4+/CD8+ ratio in patients of breast cancer after chemotherapy.
Figure 22
Figure 22
Forest plot of NK cells in patients of breast cancer after chemotherapy.
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