ArticleEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2019
Traditional Chinese Medicine Preparation Combined Therapy May Improve Chemotherapy Efficacy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Article in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Chinese Herbal Medicine for Reducing Chemotherapy-Associated Side-Effects in Breast Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2020Pooled it
- HaiTang Heji Formula for Moderate Rosacea Refractory to Conventional Therapies: A Case Report Demonstrating Holistic Improvement in Physical and Psychological Symptoms.Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology · 2025Article
- Traditional and Complementary Medicine Use among Cancer Patients in Asian Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Cancers · 2024Review
- The Effects of Complementary Therapies on Patient-Reported Outcomes: An Overview of Recent Systematic Reviews in Oncology.Cancers · 2023Review
- State of the Art and Future Implications of SH003: Acting as a Therapeutic Anticancer Agent.Cancers · 2022Review
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on intention to use traditional Chinese medicine: A cross-sectional study based on the theory of planned behavior.Journal of integrative medicine · 2021Article
- Medicinal Plants and Mushrooms with Immunomodulatory and Anticancer Properties-A Review on Hong Kong's Experience.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Beneficial Actions ofNutrients · 2021Review
- Metabolomics Analysis Reveals Interaction of Base-Line Chemotherapy and Shiyiwei Shenqi Tablets in Breast Cancer Treatment.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2021Article
- WGCNA reveals key gene modules regulated by the combined treatment of colon cancer with PHY906 and CPT11.Bioscience reports · 2020Article
- Article
- Xiao-Ai-Ping Injection Enhances Effect of Paclitaxel to Suppress Breast Cancer Proliferation and Metastasis via Activating Transcription Factor 3.Integrative cancer therapiesArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWhether traditional Chinese medicine preparation combined therapy can improve the efficacy of chemotherapy is controversial. This meta-analysis evaluates the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine preparation combined with chemotherapy.
methodThree databases were searched from inception through August 2018. Eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving the combined treatment of chemotherapy and traditional Chinese medicine preparation compared to chemotherapy alone for treating cancer were retrieved. The methodological quality of the included RCTs was assessed with Cochrane Collaboration's risk of bias assessment tool. Meta-analysis was adopted to make comprehensive comparisons between the experimental and control groups.
resultsFour RCTs were included in this review, comprising 256 subjects. The majority of the RCTs were judged as being of poor methodological quality. Meta-analysis showed that the combination of traditional Chinese medicine preparation and chemotherapy appeared to be more effective than chemotherapy alone, for the treatment of cancer, as assessed by the disease control rate (RR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.11 to 1.79) and the objective response rate (RR: 2.71, 95% CI: 1.28 to 5.77). There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in terms of bone marrow suppression (RR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.57 to 1.37) or gastrointestinal reaction (RR: 1.12, 95% CI 0.75 to 1.69).
conclusionsTraditional Chinese medicine preparation combined with chemotherapy may improve objective response rates and disease control rates more than chemotherapy alone. The evidence that combined traditional Chinese medicine preparation can reduce the side effects of chemotherapy is insufficient. More rigorous randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these conclusions.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.