Effectiveness and safety of herbal medicine for cancer-related fatigue in lung cancer survivors: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Approximately half of lung cancer patients (LCP) receiving chemotherapy are experiencing cancer-related fatigue (CRF). In East Asia, herbal medicines (HMs) have been used as tonics due to their anti-fatigue effect. This systematic review evaluated the effectiveness and safety of HMs for CRF in LCP. We comprehensively searched 12 electronic medical databases to search randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs investigating HMs for CRF in LCP, published up to September 2019. The primary outcome was the fatigue severity. Secondary outcomes included patients' quality of life (QOL), activities of daily life (ADL), and incidence of adverse events. Cochrane's risk of bias tool assessed the methodological quality of included RCTs. The risk ratio or mean difference was estimated with 95% confidence intervals by performing a meta-analysis. Twelve RCTs with 861 participants were included. Compared to conventional medicine alone, HM combined with conventional medicine significantly improved fatigue level, QOL, and ADL. As monotherapy, HM significantly improved ADL compared with megestrol. No serious HM-related adverse events were reported. Limited evidence suggests that HM could be effective and safe for CRF in LCP. However, further high-quality RCTs are needed to confirm these findings owing to the small number and low methodological quality of the included studies.

Kwon CY ，Lee B ，Kong M ，Lee SH ，Jung HJ ，Kim KI ，Lee BJ ... -  《-》

Herbal medicine on cancer-related fatigue of lung cancer survivors: Protocol for a systematic review.

Kwon CY ，Lee B ，Kim KI ，Lee BJ ... -  《-》

Herbal Medicine for Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials and Limitations.

Background: This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness (functional outcomes and clinical symptoms) and safety (incidence of adverse events) of herbal medicine (HM) as monotherapy or adjunctive therapy to conventional treatment (CT) for traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: We comprehensively searched 14 databases from their inception until July 2019. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using HM as monotherapy or adjunctive therapy to treat TBI patients were included. The primary outcome was functional outcomes, consciousness state, morbidity, and mortality. Meta-analysis was performed to calculate a risk ratio (RR) or mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), when appropriate data were available. Methodological quality of RCTs and the strength of evidence were also assessed. Results: Thirty-seven RCTs with 3,374 participants were included. According to meta-analysis, HM as a monotherapy (RR 1.29, 95% CI: 1.21-1.37) or an adjunctive therapy to CT (RR 1.21, 95% CI: 1.16-1.27) showed significantly better total effective rate based on clinical symptoms, compared to CT alone. Subgroup analysis showed that HM had significantly improved post-concussion syndrome, dizziness, headache, epilepsy, and mild TBI, but not traumatic brain edema, compared to CT. Moreover, HM combined with CT had significantly improved post-concussion syndrome, mental disorder, headache, epilepsy, and mild TBI-like symptoms, but not cognitive dysfunction and posttraumatic hydrocephalus, compared to CT alone. When HM was combined with CT, functional outcomes such as activities of daily living and neurological function were significantly better than in patients treated using CT alone. In terms of the incidence of adverse events, HM did not differ from either CT (RR 0.88, 95% CI: 0.33-2.30) or placebo (RR 2.29, 95% CI: 0.83-6.32). However, HM combined with CT showed better safety profile than CT alone (RR 0.64, 95% CI: 0.44-0.93). Most studies had a high risk of performance bias, and the quality of evidence was mostly rated "very low" to "moderate," mostly because the included studies had a high risk of bias and imprecise quantitative synthesis results. Conclusion: The current evidence suggests that there is insufficient evidence for recommending HM for TBI in clinical practice. Therefore, further larger, high-quality, rigorous RCTs should be conducted.

Lee B ，Leem J ，Kim H ，Jo HG ，Kwon CY ... -  《Frontiers in Neurology》

Chinese herbal medicine for cancer-related fatigue: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials.

To assess the effectiveness and safety of Chinese herbal medicine for the treatment of cancer-related fatigue. We systematically searched seven electronic databases and two trial registries for randomized clinical trials of Chinese herbal medicine for cancer-related fatigue. Two authors independently extracted data and assessed the methodological quality of the included trials using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Data were synthesized using RevMan 5.2 software. A total of 10 trials involving 751 participants with cancer-related fatigue were identified and the methodological quality of the included trials was generally poor. Chinese herbal medicine used alone or in combination with chemotherapy or supportive care showed significant relief in cancer-related fatigue compared to placebo, chemotherapy or supportive care based on single trials. Chinese herbal medicine plus chemotherapy or supportive care was superior to chemotherapy or supportive care in improving quality of life. Data from one trial demonstrated Chinese herbal medicine exerted a greater beneficial effect on relieving anxiety but no difference in alleviating depression. Seven trials reported adverse events and no severe adverse effects were found in Chinese herbal medicine groups. The findings from limited number of trials suggest that Chinese herbal medicine seems to be effective and safe in the treatment of cancer-related fatigue. However, the current evidence is insufficient to draw a confirmative conclusion due to the poor methodological quality of included trials. Thus, conducting rigorously designed trials on potential Chinese herbal medicine is warranted.

Su CX ，Wang LQ ，Grant SJ ，Liu JP ... -  《-》

A study protocol for HEalth-Related quality of life-intervention in survivors of Breast and other cancers experiencing cancer-related fatigue using TraditionAL Chinese Medicine: the HERBAL trial.

Yap NY ，Loo WS ，Zheng HF ，Tan QM ，Tan TK ，Quek LYP ，Tan CJ ，Toh YL ，Ng CC ，Ang SK ，Tan VKM ，Ho HK ，Chew L ，Loh KW ，Tan TJY ，Chan A ... -  《Trials》