Evaluation of efficacy and safety for Brucea javanica oil emulsion in the control of the malignant pleural effusions via thoracic perfusion

Abstract

BackgroundBrucea javanica oil emulsion (BJOE) is traditional Chinese medicine with implicated anti-tumor activity, which has been used for treating lung cancer in China. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the effects and safety of intrapleural injection of BJOE in treating malignant pleural effusion (MPE).MethodsThe randomised controlled trials (RCTs) on the effects and safety of BJOE in treating MPE were searched from electronic medical database including MEDLINE, SCI, EMBASE, Cochrance Library and CNKI. A total of 14 RCTs with 1085 patients were involved in this meta-analysis.ResultsThe overall response rate (ORR) of traditional chemotherapy drugs plus BJOE was higher than that of traditional chemotherapy drugs alone (p = 0.001; odds ratio = 1.39). Meanwhile, the combination of BJOE and traditional chemotherapy drugs improved the quality of life (QOL) of patients with MPE (p < 0.001; odds ratio = 1.56) compared with traditional chemotherapy drugs alone. Moreover, the participation of BJOE reduced the myelotoxicity and digestive reactions caused by traditional chemotherapy drugs (p < 0.05).ConclusionsThe efficacy and safety of traditional chemotherapy drugs plus BJOE was superior to traditional chemotherapy drugs alone via intrapleural injection in controlling MPE, which suggested that BJOE can be used to treat MPE.

Brucea javanica oil emulsion injection (BJOEI) as an adjunctive therapy for patients with advanced colorectal carcinoma

“…[ 43 – 45 ] As an effective Chinese herbal medicine preparation, BJOEI has been widely used alone or combined with radiochemotherapy for the treatment of diverse malignant tumors. [ 19 – 23 ]…”

“…[ 18 – 23 ] BJOEI contains oleic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid, arachidonic acid, stearic acid, and other anticancer active ingredients, [ 16 ] which mainly produced in the People's Republic of China's coastal tropical and subtropical regions such as Hainan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan, and other places. [ 19 , 20 ]…”

“…BJOEI can significantly inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells by inhibiting the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis and arresting the tumor cell division cycle at G2/M. [ 19 – 21 , 23 ]…”

“…BJOEI can induces cancer cell apoptosis through activation of caspase apoptotic pathway by upregulation of the expression of caspase-3 and caspase-9 proteins and inhibition of the expression of nuclear factor kappa B, phosphoinositide 3-kinases and protein Kinase B. [ 19 – 21 ]…”

An update on Chinese herbal medicines as adjuvant treatment of anticancer therapeutics

“…A metaanalysis demonstrated that BJOEI combined with chemotherapy (e.g., Potassium capsule, Cisplatin, 5-FU, and Oxaliplatin) for treating gastric cancer possessed the property of prominently relieving nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, neutropenia, neurotoxicity, and so on (109). In addition, intrapleural injection of traditional chemotherapy drugs plus BJOEI has a better benefit of overall response rate (ORR) for treating malignant pleural effusions and improves the QOL of malignant pleural effusions patient, compared with traditional chemotherapy drugs alone (110). The participation of BJOEI could reduce the toxicity caused by chemotherapy drugs.…”