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Randomised controlled trials of traditional Chinese medicine in cancer care published in Chinese: an overview
Oral Abstracts
Randomised controlled trials of traditional Chinese medicine in cancer care published in Chinese: an overview Chun-Li Lu, Xun Li, Hong-Mei Zhou, Chi Zhang, Ya-Yue Yang, Ru-Li Feng, Chao-Jun Long, Fang-Yuan Deng, Jing-Chun Li, Ze-Ming Cao, Qi-Yuan Mao, Jin-Pu Zhu, Yan-Fei Hong, Shou-Yu Huang, Jia-Ying Qiu, Yi-Xiu Liu, Ying Wang, Yu-Qian Yan, Jia-MIN Dong, Yu-Xin Luo, Yun-Meng Chen, Ying-Jie Guan, Nicola Robinson, Jian-Ping Liu
Abstract Published Online October 18, 2019 Centre for Evidence-Based Chinese Medicine (C-L Lu BA, X Li PhD, Z-M Cao BA, Y Wang MD, Y-F Hong BA, Y-Q Yan MD, J-P Zhu BA, Y-X Luo BA, Y-J Guan BA, J-P Liu PhD), School of Traditional Chinese Medicine (C Zhang BA, C-J Long BA), and School of Life Science (J-M Dong BA), Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China; School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China (Y-Y Yang BA); Dongfang Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China (H-M Zhou BA, R-L Feng BA, J-C Li BA); Dongzhimen Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China (Y-X Liu BA, Y-M Chen BA); China–Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China (F-Y Deng BA); Wangjing Hospital (S-Y Huang BA), Department of Oncology, Guang’anmen Hospital (Q-Y Mao BA), and Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences (J-Y Qiu BA); and School of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University, London, UK (N Robinson PhD) Correspondence to: Dr Jian-Ping Liu, Centre for Evidence-Based Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China [email protected]
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Background Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely integrated into cancer care in China. Since a review done in 2011, large numbers of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have been published in the Chinese literature. We aimed to summarise the current evidence of relevant RCTs of TCM for cancer treatment to support further clinical practice and research. Methods The update was done in four main Chinese databases (China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, SinoMed, and Wanfang Database) from their inception until June 18, 2017, to identify any RCTs using TCM. We bibliometrically analysed the included RCTs and the research directions of TCM for cancer treatment. Findings We included 5834 RCTs (involving 477 147 participants). Only 62 publications were indexed in MEDLINE. The main three cancers treated with TCM were lung cancer, stomach cancer, and breast cancer. 4752 RCTs (81·5%) used TCM combined with conventional treatment whereas 1082 RCTs (18·5%) used only TCM in treatment groups for symptoms and side-effects. Herbal medicine was the most frequently applied TCM therapy (5087 RCTs; 87·2%). The most frequently reported outcome was clinical symptom improvement (3712 RCTs; 63·6%) followed by quality of life (2725 RCTs; 46·7%) and biomarker indices (2384 RCTs; 40·9%). 1237 RCTs (21·2%) reported multiple indices to provide a composite outcome to measure cancer patients’ general condition. 4051 RCTs (69·4%) concluded that in comparison with conventional treatment, TCM alone or combined with conventional treatment had a better effect in cancer care. Interpretation Substantial data showed that many different TCM treatments are being applied either as monotherapy for palliative treatment or in combination with conventional medicine for treatment. We need further comprehensive evaluation of the beneficial effects and safety of these TCM modalities, and we should focus on quality of life and explore why patients with cancer are taking TCM. Funding Key project of National Natural Science Foundation of China (81830115). Contributors XL and JPL conceived the study and design the study. CLL analysed the data and drafted the abstract. HMZ, CZ, YYY, RLF, CJL, FYD, JCL, ZMC, QYM, JPZ, YFH, SYH, JYQ, YXLi, YW, YQY, JMD, YXLu, YMC, and YJG screened papers and extracted the data. NR, JPL, and XL revised and commented on the drafted abstract. All authors approved the final abstract. Declaration of interests We declare no competing interests.
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Randomised controlled trials of traditional Chinese medicine in cancer care published in Chinese: an overview Chun-Li Lu, Xun Li, Hong-Mei Zhou, Chi Zhang, Ya-Yue Yang, Ru-Li Feng, Chao-Jun Long, Fang-Yuan Deng, Jing-Chun Li, Ze-Ming Cao, Qi-Yuan Mao, Jin-Pu Zhu, Yan-Fei Hong, Shou-Yu Huang, Jia-Ying Qiu, Yi-Xiu Liu, Ying Wang, Yu-Qian Yan, Jia-MIN Dong, Yu-Xin Luo, Yun-Meng Chen, Ying-Jie Guan, Nicola Robinson, Jian-Ping Liu
Abstract Published Online October 18, 2019 Centre for Evidence-Based Chinese Medicine (C-L Lu BA, X Li PhD, Z-M Cao BA, Y Wang MD, Y-F Hong BA, Y-Q Yan MD, J-P Zhu BA, Y-X Luo BA, Y-J Guan BA, J-P Liu PhD), School of Traditional Chinese Medicine (C Zhang BA, C-J Long BA), and School of Life Science (J-M Dong BA), Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China; School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China (Y-Y Yang BA); Dongfang Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China (H-M Zhou BA, R-L Feng BA, J-C Li BA); Dongzhimen Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China (Y-X Liu BA, Y-M Chen BA); China–Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China (F-Y Deng BA); Wangjing Hospital (S-Y Huang BA), Department of Oncology, Guang’anmen Hospital (Q-Y Mao BA), and Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences (J-Y Qiu BA); and School of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University, London, UK (N Robinson PhD) Correspondence to: Dr Jian-Ping Liu, Centre for Evidence-Based Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China [email protected]
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Background Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely integrated into cancer care in China. Since a review done in 2011, large numbers of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have been published in the Chinese literature. We aimed to summarise the current evidence of relevant RCTs of TCM for cancer treatment to support further clinical practice and research. Methods The update was done in four main Chinese databases (China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, SinoMed, and Wanfang Database) from their inception until June 18, 2017, to identify any RCTs using TCM. We bibliometrically analysed the included RCTs and the research directions of TCM for cancer treatment. Findings We included 5834 RCTs (involving 477 147 participants). Only 62 publications were indexed in MEDLINE. The main three cancers treated with TCM were lung cancer, stomach cancer, and breast cancer. 4752 RCTs (81·5%) used TCM combined with conventional treatment whereas 1082 RCTs (18·5%) used only TCM in treatment groups for symptoms and side-effects. Herbal medicine was the most frequently applied TCM therapy (5087 RCTs; 87·2%). The most frequently reported outcome was clinical symptom improvement (3712 RCTs; 63·6%) followed by quality of life (2725 RCTs; 46·7%) and biomarker indices (2384 RCTs; 40·9%). 1237 RCTs (21·2%) reported multiple indices to provide a composite outcome to measure cancer patients’ general condition. 4051 RCTs (69·4%) concluded that in comparison with conventional treatment, TCM alone or combined with conventional treatment had a better effect in cancer care. Interpretation Substantial data showed that many different TCM treatments are being applied either as monotherapy for palliative treatment or in combination with conventional medicine for treatment. We need further comprehensive evaluation of the beneficial effects and safety of these TCM modalities, and we should focus on quality of life and explore why patients with cancer are taking TCM. Funding Key project of National Natural Science Foundation of China (81830115). Contributors XL and JPL conceived the study and design the study. CLL analysed the data and drafted the abstract. HMZ, CZ, YYY, RLF, CJL, FYD, JCL, ZMC, QYM, JPZ, YFH, SYH, JYQ, YXLi, YW, YQY, JMD, YXLu, YMC, and YJG screened papers and extracted the data. NR, JPL, and XL revised and commented on the drafted abstract. All authors approved the final abstract. Declaration of interests We declare no competing interests.
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