Su Chun-Xiang, Wang Li-Qiong, Grant Suzanne J, Liu Jian-Ping
Centre for Evidence-Based Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China; School of Nursing, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100102, China.
Centre for Evidence-Based Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China.
Complement Ther Med. 2014 Jun;22(3):567-79. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2014.04.007. Epub 2014 May 5.
To assess the effectiveness and safety of Chinese herbal medicine for the treatment of cancer-related fatigue.
We systematically searched seven electronic databases and two trial registries for randomized clinical trials of Chinese herbal medicine for cancer-related fatigue. Two authors independently extracted data and assessed the methodological quality of the included trials using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Data were synthesized using RevMan 5.2 software.
A total of 10 trials involving 751 participants with cancer-related fatigue were identified and the methodological quality of the included trials was generally poor. Chinese herbal medicine used alone or in combination with chemotherapy or supportive care showed significant relief in cancer-related fatigue compared to placebo, chemotherapy or supportive care based on single trials. Chinese herbal medicine plus chemotherapy or supportive care was superior to chemotherapy or supportive care in improving quality of life. Data from one trial demonstrated Chinese herbal medicine exerted a greater beneficial effect on relieving anxiety but no difference in alleviating depression. Seven trials reported adverse events and no severe adverse effects were found in Chinese herbal medicine groups.
The findings from limited number of trials suggest that Chinese herbal medicine seems to be effective and safe in the treatment of cancer-related fatigue. However, the current evidence is insufficient to draw a confirmative conclusion due to the poor methodological quality of included trials. Thus, conducting rigorously designed trials on potential Chinese herbal medicine is warranted.
评估中药治疗癌症相关疲劳的有效性和安全性。
我们系统检索了七个电子数据库和两个试验注册库，以查找关于中药治疗癌症相关疲劳的随机临床试验。两位作者独立提取数据，并使用Cochrane偏倚风险工具评估纳入试验的方法学质量。使用RevMan 5.2软件进行数据合成。
共识别出10项涉及751名癌症相关疲劳患者的试验，纳入试验的方法学质量普遍较差。根据单项试验，单独使用中药或与化疗或支持性护理联合使用，与安慰剂、化疗或支持性护理相比，在缓解癌症相关疲劳方面有显著效果。中药加化疗或支持性护理在改善生活质量方面优于化疗或支持性护理。一项试验的数据表明，中药在缓解焦虑方面有更大的有益作用，但在缓解抑郁方面没有差异。七项试验报告了不良事件，中药组未发现严重不良反应。
有限数量试验的结果表明，中药在治疗癌症相关疲劳方面似乎有效且安全。然而，由于纳入试验的方法学质量较差，目前的证据不足以得出确定性结论。因此，有必要对潜在的中药进行严格设计的试验。
