Efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Xerostomia and Quality of Life during Radiotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer: A Prospective Pilot Study

Abstract

Xerostomia is one of the most common acute and late complications of radiotherapy for head and neck cancer, and it affects quality of life. We conducted a prospective study to evaluate the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in toxicities and quality of life during radiotherapy. Head and neck cancer patients who were scheduled for radiotherapy were checked for inclusion/exclusion criteria before enrollment. Patients in the study group (inpatients) were hospitalized in a Chinese medicine ward and received concomitant TCM intervention during radiotherapy, while those in the control group (outpatients) received only conventional cancer treatments at the Western outpatient department. The primary end point was amelioration of postradiotherapy side effects. The secondary end points were quality of life during the cancer therapy and occurrence of adverse events following the TCM treatments. Thirty inpatients and 50 outpatients completed the study. Compared to the control group, those in the TCM group had decreased severity of xerostomia. There was no treatment-related impairment of renal or hepatic function among TCM group. Although better outcomes of social contact, dyspnea, physical and emotional function, and financial problems were found in the TCM group, we need further confirmation about the impact of hospitalization itself on these results.

Use of Complementary Traditional Chinese Medicines by Adult Cancer Patients in Taiwan: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

“… 46 A previous study in Taiwan showed that policy makers resist recommendation of TCM, because they were educated as Western medical practitioners or under the modern Western medicine paradigm. 47 However, an increasing number of medical centers in Taiwan employ an integrative approach to cancer treatment, in outpatient 48 and inpatient 49 settings, in an effort to better meet the needs of cancer patients. This could improve communication among patients, TCM practitioners, and oncologists.…”

Impact of xerostomia on the quality of life of patients submitted to head and neck radiotherapy

“…Xerostomia is the most common oral complication of RT when the irradiated area involves the oral and maxillofacial complex, which may occur both during or after radiotherapy (4,5). Radiation-induced xerostomia depends on the cumulative doses of radiation on the head and neck region, in the first week of conventional RT, salivary flow decreases from 50 to 60%, after 7 weeks it diminishes to approximately 20% and continues to decline for up to several months after RT (2).…”

Allicin enhances the radiosensitivity of colorectal cancer cells via inhibition of NF‐κB signaling pathway

“…However, the efficacy is reduced due to the radioresistance of some cancer cells (Liu, Duo, & Duan, 2018; Zhang et al., 2017). Recently, the radiotherapy combines with traditional Chinese Medicine has been widely used for the treatment of tumor, which has a good clinical effect (Hsu et al., 2016; Zhang, Chen, Luo, Ren, & Qiao, 2017). In our results, we found that low‐dose allicin combined with X‐ray radiotherapy inhibits the growth, proliferation, migration, and induces apoptosis in HCT116 cell, and inhibits transplanted tumor of CT26 cells growth in vivo , which indicated that allicin could enhance the sensitivity of X‐ray radiotherapy for CRC.…”