Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38853681›Full record

SynthesisIntegrative cancer therapies

Efficacy and Safety of Compound Kushen Injection for Advanced Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials with Trial Sequential Analysis.

Jingyuan Wu, Xinyi Ma, Xinmiao Wang, Guanghui Zhu, Heping Wang, Ying Zhang, Jie Li

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Integrative cancer therapies. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Effect ofFrontiers in pharmacology · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
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

7 authors.

Jingyuan WuGuang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID 0000-0002-4987-6113
Xinyi MaGuang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
Xinmiao WangGuang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID 0000-0002-9367-4471
Guanghui ZhuGuang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
Heping WangGuang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID 0000-0001-5508-3200
Ying ZhangGuang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
Jie LiGuang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID 0000-0002-3461-8816

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundsColorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the common malignant tumors, with a gradually increasing incidence. Due to late detection and poor sensitivity to chemotherapy, it has become a difficult problem in tumor prevention and treatment at present. Exploring or discovering new combinations is a significant strategy for the treatment of CRC. Compound kushen injection (CKI) is a traditional Chinese medicine injection extracted from

methodsPubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Scientific Journals Database, Wanfang Database, Chinese Biomedicine Database Searches, the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched systematically, from inception to April 20, 2024. We adopted the ROB2 tool to assess quality of the included trials, Stata 16 for data analysis, and evaluated the publication bias with the funnel plot and Egger's test. The quality of the evidence was justified according to GRADE. We also used trial sequential analysis (TSA) to calculate the final required sample size in this meta-analysis and to verify whether the results present a reliable conclusion. The protocol for this systematic review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42022380106) and has been published.

resultsSixteen trials that examined 1378 patients were included in this study. Meta-analysis revealed that compared with chemotherapy, objective response rate (ORR, RR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.18-1.44), disease control rate (DCR, RR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.03-1.13), and KPS score improvement rate were improved (RR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.07-1.31) by the combination of CKI and chemotherapy in patients with advanced CRC. Additionally, CKI combined with chemotherapy was associated with lower adverse reactions such as leukopenia (RR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.62-0.87), thrombocytopenia (RR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.49-0.94), gastrointestinal reactions (RR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.55-0.94), and liver damage (RR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.30-0.79), higher CD4

conclusionCKI combined with chemotherapy provides a statistically significant and clinically important effect in the improvement of ORR, DCR, performance status, ADR reduction, and immune function in patients with CRC. However, more rigorously designed, large-scale, and multi-center RCTs are needed in the future.

Indexed as

Colorectal NeoplasmsDrugs, Chinese HerbalRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicHumansMedicine, Chinese TraditionalSophoraDrugs, Chinese Herbalkushenchemotherapeutic drugscolorectal cancerCompound Kushen injectiontraditional Chinese medicineTSA

Identifiers

PMID38853681
PMCPMC11163932

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.