Pharmacological intervention of traditional Chinese medicine for the quality of life in patients with colorectal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Context. Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is one of the difficult gynecological diseases with complex etiologies. Tonifying kidney (bushen) and activating blood (huoxue) prescription (TKABP) is a popular traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) therapy which is commonly applied for POI. However, its efficacy and safety are still controversial. Objective. We carried out this systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of TKABP on POI. Methods. The following eight databases were searched from the establishment to September 30, 2019, for randomized controlled trials (RCTs): PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), the Chinese BioMedical database (CBM), Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP), and the Wanfang database. The quality of evidence was estimated by the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE). Results. Twenty-three RCTs involving 1712 patients with POI were included. Compared to hormone therapy (HT) groups, TKABP groups showed a significantly higher total effective rate (RR: 1.10; 95% CI: 1.04–1.17; P<0.01, I2 = 32%). In addition, TKABP groups revealed a better improvement in terms of serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels, serum estradiol (E2) levels, peak systolic velocity (PSV) of ovarian stromal blood, and Kupperman index (KI) score. However, serum luteinizing hormone (LH) levels and ovarian volume (OV) showed no significant statistical difference. Subgroup analyses showed that herbal paste and 3 months of treatment duration had a greater effect on the improvement of hormone levels. Besides, the occurrence of related adverse events in TKABP groups was lower than that in HT groups. Conclusions. Our review suggests that TKABP appears to be an effective and safe measure for patients with POI, and the herbal paste may be superior. However, the methodological quality of included RCTs was unsatisfactory, and it is necessary to verify its effectiveness with furthermore standardized researches of rigorous design.

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Impact of non-pharmacological interventions on quality of life, anxiety, and depression scores in patients with colorectal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Supportive Care in Cancer ◽

10.1007/s00520-021-06185-x ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Xinyu Meng ◽

Xiaodong Wang ◽

Zaiquan Dong

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Colorectal Cancer ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Randomized Controlled Trials ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Controlled Trials ◽

Pharmacological Interventions ◽

Randomized Controlled

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Health-related quality of life in patients with colorectal cancer in the palliative phase: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BMC Palliative Care ◽

10.1186/s12904-021-00837-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ida Røed Flyum ◽

Seila Mahic ◽

Ellen Karine Grov ◽

Pål Joranger

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Colorectal Cancer ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Easy Access ◽

Health Related Quality ◽

Related Quality ◽

Health Related ◽

Palliative Phase

Abstract Background The occurrence of colorectal cancer has doubled over the last 50 years and many people are living with the disease in the palliative phase. Therefore, it is important that healthcare personnel have knowledge about the patient’s health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The aim of this review is to investigate how HRQoL is reported by means of different measures for patients in the palliative phase of colorectal cancer and examine which sociodemographic and clinical factors are associated with the mean scores reported for HRQoL. Method A systematic review and meta-analysis using forest plots in STATA were conducted. The databases MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, Amed, and SveMed+ were used for the systematic searches with combinations of terms for colorectal cancer, the palliative phase and HRQoL. The Cochrane handbook and the PRISMA checklist from 2009 were utilised. Results In total, 710 articles were identified. Eleven quantitative studies met the inclusion criteria and six were included in the meta-analysis. Five of the 11 studies had a longitudinal design, while the other six had a cross-sectional design. The meta-analyzes shows that the average HRQoL in palliative phase was 62.9 (56.8–69.0) 15D was 0.76 (0.73–0.79), EQ-5D was 0.67 (0.62–0.73), and VAS was 64.1 (53.7–74.4). Multiple sociodemographic and clinical variables were associated with HRQoL and a higher prevalence of common cancer symptoms were reported than gastrointestinal symptoms. Conclusion This systematic review revealed that patients with colorectal cancer report low HRQoL. Furthermore, it shows that what affects HRQoL is complicated, including multiple clinical and sociodemographic variables. This underlines the need for further research. To ensure the best possible care, it is important that all healthcare professionals have easy access to knowledge about HRQoL in patients with colorectal cancer, and what impacts it in the last phase of life.

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Efficacy and Safety of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: A Meta-Analysis

Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine ◽

10.1155/2020/1752387 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Kun Ji ◽

Jianling Ma ◽

Liangmin Wang ◽

Niuniu Li ◽

Shangjuan Dong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Chinese Medicine ◽

Traditional Chinese Medicine ◽

Lung Function ◽

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis ◽

Pulmonary Fibrosis ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Efficacy And Safety

Objective. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) on lung function and quality of life of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients by meta-analysis. Methods. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related to TCM and IPF were searched on PubMed, EMBASE Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database, Chin VIP Information (VIP), and Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM) until December 2018. Standard mean difference (SMD) and 95% CI were calculated for the measurements related to lung function (FEV1/FVC, FVC%, FEV1%, TLC%, DLCO% or DLCO, and VC%) and other parameters (PO2, 6MWD, and SGRQ) when comparing TCM treatment to the control group. Relative risk (RR) and 95% CI of adverse events (AEs) were calculated to assess the safety of TCM. Results. A total of 40 RCTs comparing TCM to western medicine (WM) and involving 3194 IPF patients were eligible for the meta-analysis. The pooled results showed that TCM treatment improved significantly PO2 (SMD = 0.80, 95% CI 0.54 to 1.06, p<0.001), FEV1% (SMD = 0.57, 95% CI 0.42 to 0.71, p<0.001), DLCO% (SMD = 0.38, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.48, p<0.001), 6MWD (SMD = 0.70, 95% CI 0.56 to 0.84, p<0.001) and other measurements and reduced SGRQ scores (SMD = −0.51, 95% CI −0.70 to −0.22, p<0.001). Subgroup analysis of different study durations (3 months, ≥ 6 months) and comparison models (TCM vs. WM, TCM + WM vs. WM or TCM vs. placebo) showed similar results. No significant difference of risk of AEs was observed between both groups (RR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.27–1.60, p=0.352). There was no obvious publication bias, and the pooled results were stable according to sensitivity analysis. Conclusion. To the best of our knowledge, the present study had the largest sample size. Our results indicated that TCM treatment may help provide benefit to the lung function, exercise capacity, and quality of life of IPF patients, alone or combined with WM, when compared to WM. More rigorous RCTs were needed in the future.

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