Traditional Chinese medicines and capecitabine‐based chemotherapy for colorectal cancer treatment: A meta‐analysis

Abstract

This meta‐analysis was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the addition of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCMs) to capecitabine‐based regimens for colorectal cancer (CRC) in term of tumor. The eight electronic databases including Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science (WOS), Excerpt Medica Database (Embase), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Science and Technology Journals (CQVIP), and Wanfang Database were systematically searched for eligible studies from their inception to March 2021. Thirty‐nine randomized controlled trials were involved in this study, and all the data were analyzed by Review Manager 5.3 (Nordic Cochran Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark) and R 4.0.5 software. The meta‐analyses suggested that TCMs in combination with capecitabine‐based regimens increased objective response rate (ORR) in the palliative treatment of CRC (risk ratio [RR], 1.35 [1.17, 1.55], I 2 = 0%), disease control rate (DCR) (RR, 1.22 [1.12, 1.32], I 2 = 3%), and quality of life (QOL) (RR, 1.71 [1.44, 2.03], I 2 = 0%), with decreased risks of myelosuppression, anemia, thrombocytopenia, liver/renal dysfunction, neurotoxicity, nausea/vomiting, neutropenia, diarrhea, leukopenia, improved the peripheral lymphocyte, reduced the expression of tumor markers, and related factors. Further sensitivity analysis of specific plant‐based TCMs found that dangshen, fuling, and gancao had significantly higher contributions to the results of the RR. The results show that capecitabine‐based chemotherapy combined with TCM in the treatment of CRC increases the efficiency of ORR and DCR, reduces chemotherapeutic agents‐associated adverse reactions, and improves their life quality as compared with chemotherapy alone, but further randomized and large sample of studies are needed.

Molecular Mechanism of Salvia miltiorrhiza in the Treatment of Colorectal Cancer Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking Technology

“…Notably, traditional Chinese medicine has emerged as a promising modality for the treatment of colorectal cancer. 10,11 Salvia miltiorrhiza ranks among the most renowned species within the Salvia genus, which belongs to the Lamiaceae family. 12,13 Salvia miltiorrhiza, first documented in the "Shen-Nong Herbal Classic", is characterized by its bitter taste and slightly cold nature.…”

Jianpi Jiedu decoction reverses 5-fluorouracil resistance in colorectal cancer by suppressing the xCT/GSH/GPX4 axis to induce ferroptosis

“…As an adjuvant therapy for cancer, TCM can mitigate the side effects of chemotherapy, enhance patient immunity, improve patient quality of life, and augment the anti-tumor effect of conventional chemotherapy [ 9 , 10 ]. A meta-analysis demonstrated that associating TCM with capecitabine-based chemotherapy yielded greater anti-cancer efficacy compared to administering capecitabine monotherapy in CRC [ 11 ].…”

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

“…Numerous clinical studies have found that TCM combined with chemotherapy in the treatment of CRC may improve clinical symptoms, enhance immunity, and alleviate chemotherapy-induced adverse reactions. 8 - 10 Compound Kushen injection (CKI) is one of the representative and effective Chinese patent medicines, which is extracted from 2 medical herbs: Kushen ( Sophora flavescens Ait.) and Baituling ( Smilax glabra Roxb.).…”