Efficacy and Safety of <i>Rhus verniciflua</i> Stokes Extracts in Patients with Previously Treated Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Abstract

Background: Systemic treatments for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have modest survival benefits but high toxicity. Rhus verniciflua Stokes (RVS), the lacquer tree, is an ancient traditional medicine being used for the treatment of cancer. We investigated the efficacy and safety of allergen-removed RVS extract (aRVS) for the prolongation of survival in NSCLC after the failure of first-line or secondline chemotherapy. Patients and Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 40 patients who were treated with aRVS for previously treated, advanced NSCLC at the M×µ Integrative Cancer Center, Korea, between June 2006 and June 2009. The primary objective of this study was to assess overall survival. Secondary objectives included assessments of disease control rates, progression-free survival, and the safety of aRVS treatment. Results: The median survival time was 8.4 months with a 1-year survival of 40%. The disease control rate was 63.6%, and the median progression-free survival interval was 3.9 months. Patients who had better performance status and adenocarcinoma experienced more favorable outcomes in terms of overall survival. in aRVS treatment were negligible, with the most common drug-related adverse events being mild epigastric pain and itching skin. Hematologic toxicity was absent. Conclusions: Survival data and favorable levels of tolerability suggest the potential of aRVS treatment in previously treated patients with advanced NSCLC. Treatment with aRVS might be a viable alternative in patients for whom chemotherapy is not feasible, or who refuse chemotherapy.

Comparison of the main components and bioactivity of Rhus verniciflua Stokes extracts by different detoxification processing methods

“…This is consistent with our finding that DRVE, an allergen-free RVS extract detoxified by heating to a high temperature, possesses the highest gallic acid content. Moreover, another study reported that an allergen-free RVS extract detoxified by heating (by roasting in an iron pot at 240 °C for 50 min and extracting with water) contains higher amounts of fustin (130 mg/g) than fisetin (20 mg/g) [21]. Similar to these data, our results demonstrated that DRVE contained three times more fustin than fisetin.…”

Combination Therapy of Gefitinib and Korean Herbal Medicines Could be a Beneficial Option for Patients with Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

“…Geonchilgyebok-jeong is made of Rhus verniciflua stokes, Cinnamomi ramulus , Hoelen , Moutan cortex , Persicae semens , and Paeoniae radix . Previous research reported that Rhus verniciflua Stokes had therapeutic effects in patients with NSCLC, in that it prolonged survival time and was well tolerated [ 10 ]. Park et al [ 11 ] reported that geonchilgyebok- jeong treatment had considerable anti-tumor effect and immunopotentiating activity, without adverse effects, in patients with lung cancer.…”

Activation of caspases and inhibition of ribosome biogenesis mediate antitumor activity of Chijongdan in A549 non-small lung cancer cells

“…Among constituents of Chijongdan, Rhus verniciflua was known to have antitumor activity in A549 lung cancer [24], MCF-7 breast cancer [25], lymphoma [26], osteosarcoma [27] and renal cancer [28] and also processed Panax ginseng was reported to exert antitumor effect in AGS gastric cancer. Also, Persicaria tinctoria contained tyrosine kinase inhibitory compounds [29] and Realgar was reported to be too cytotoxic and apoptotic in chronic lymphocytic leukemia or cervical cell lines [30, 31].…”