Effectiveness of 3-Week Intervention of Shi Quan Da Bu Tang for Alleviating Hematotoxicity Among Patients With Breast Carcinoma Receiving Chemotherapy

Abstract

Purpose. Although Shi Quan Da Bu Tang (SQDBT) has been used to treat cancer patients clinically, very few studies evaluating the effectiveness of SQDBT using objective indicators have been published. The study objectives were to examine the effectiveness of SQDBT for alleviating hematotoxicity, as indicated by white blood cell (WBC) counts and hemoglobin (Hb) levels, among patients with breast carcinoma receiving chemotherapy. Methods. The authors identified patients with breast carcinoma who received chemotherapy in a teaching hospital in Taipei in 2008 through a chart review process. Only patients with initial WBC counts of <4000/µL were included. The case group was composed of 47 chemotherapy courses treated with SQDBT, whereas the comparison group included 257 courses without SQDBT. The complete blood count test was done before start of a chemotherapy course and 1 week after chemotherapeutic drugs were given. Results. Age, cancer stage, cancer status, use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and chemotherapy drugs were controlled in the model. Patients who took SQDBT had significantly increased WBC counts, especially neutrophils, and Hb after chemotherapy (adjusted β = 1202.51, 95% confidence interval [CI] 440.45-1964.57 for WBC; β = 834.83, 95% CI = 197.35-1472.31 for neutrophils; β = 0.34, 95% CI = 0.05-0.63 for Hb). There were no significant differences in tumor markers CEA and CA153 between patients given SQDBT or not after chemotherapy. Conclusion. SQDBT is effective in alleviating hematotoxicity among patients with breast carcinoma receiving chemotherapy, without affecting the presentation of tumor markers in the short term. More study is needed to determine long-term outcomes such as recurrence and survival.

Biomarker-Guided Screening of Juzen-taiho-to, an Oriental Herbal Formulation for Immunostimulation

“…JTT (Shi-Quan-Da-Bu-Tang in Chinese) is an immunostimulatory herbal formulation with an ideal balance of safety and efficacy [1,2]. In East Asia, the formulation has been used clinically for immunocompromised individuals, such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation [1][2][3][4]. JTT stimulates various leukocytes, including T, B, and NK cells and MΦ, which result in antitumor and anti-metastatic effects as well as alleviation of anemia and leukopenia [5][6][7][8].…”

Uncovering potential ‘herbal probiotics’ in Juzen-taiho-to through the study of associated bacterial populations

“…15 JTT is used clinically in East Asia to strengthen the immune functions of patients with various diseases, including cancer, 16,17 hepatitis C, 18 and otitis. 19 The formulation is a mixture of ten different herbs (see Table S1 in Supplementary data).…”

Cecropin Suppresses Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma BEL-7402 Cell Growth and Survival in vivo without Side-Toxicity

“…Traditional chemotherapeutics often causes hematotoxicity when administrated against cancer (Lin et al, 2010;Huang et al, 2013). In the present study, we found that cecropin treatment had no influence on hematological phenotype including Hb content, WBC and RBC count, as well as PCV in BEL-7402 tumor-beared mice as compared with saline treatment.…”