Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36525406›Full record

ArticlePloS one2022

Effect of Chinese herbal medicine formula on progression-free survival among patients with metastatic colorectal cancer: Study protocol for a multi-center, double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Qiaoling Wang, Zhuohong Li, Jing Guo, Wenyuan Li, Fengming You

Open access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial Protocol
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Trial
  3. Review
  4. East meets West: The winning combination againstWorld journal of clinical oncology · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Therapeutic Potential of Bioactive Components fromInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Qiaoling WangDepartment of Scientific Research, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.ORCID 0000-0002-6014-3850
Zhuohong LiDepartment of Oncology, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
Jing GuoDepartment of Scientific Research, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
Wenyuan LiEvidence-Based Medicine Center, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
Fengming YouDepartment of Scientific Research, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionMetastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) causes high cancer-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although chemotherapy and targeted agents treatment improve median survival and 5-year survival rates, there is only one-third of patients who adhere to treatment protocol until the pause of disease progression. Hezhong granule is a traditional Chinese herbal formula used for mCRC, which has shown good potential in alleviating the adverse effects of chemotherapy, enhancing the effectiveness of chemotherapy, and improving the quality of life. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to further validate the clinical efficacy and safety of the Chinese herbal medicine formula named Hezhong (HZ) in combination with standard chemotherapy and cetuximab (CET) or bevacizumab (BV) for treating mCRC.

methodsIn this multi-center, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial, 360 eligible mCRC patients who will be randomly assigned to Hezhong or placebo group with a 1: 1 ratio. Participants in the Hezhong group will receive standard chemotherapy and CET or BV plus Hezhong Granule until the pause of disease progression, death, the exhibition of intolerable toxicity, or up to 6 months, while the placebo group will treat with standard chemotherapy and CET or BV plus placebo. The primary endpoint is progression-free survival (PFS). The secondary endpoints are overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR), safety, quality of life years (QOL), and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). EXPECTED

resultsThe expected results of this trial are to improve the PFS and QOL of patients with mCRC and provide evidence-based recommendations for the treatment of mCRC with traditional Chinese medicine in China.

trial registrationThe trial has been registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR). The trial registration number was ChiCTR2100041643.

Indexed as

Colorectal NeoplasmsDrugs, Chinese HerbalRectal NeoplasmsAntineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy ProtocolsBevacizumabCetuximabDisease ProgressionHumansMulticenter Studies as TopicPlant ExtractsProgression-Free SurvivalQuality of LifeRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTreatment OutcomeBevacizumabCetuximabDrugs, Chinese HerbalPlant Extracts

Identifiers

PMID36525406
PMCPMC9757552
OpenAlexW4311684243

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.