Abstract
Background:
Mounting evidence indicates that herbal therapy is effective in alleviating anxiety, lessening cancer treatment-related side-effects, and facilitating rehabilitation. This is the first trial to examine the herbal therapy of combined yunzhi and danshen on quality of life among breast cancer patients.
Methods:
A multicenter, longitudinal, and self-control study was used. Eighty-two breast cancer patients were given combined yunzhi and danshen capsules for six months on a daily basis. Data collection including quality of life, vitality status and adverse effects were taken.
Results:
Results showed a significant improvement in physical function, role-physical, role-emotion and health transition (P < 0.05). Patients also reported less fatigue, better quality of sleep, better appetite, more regular bowel movements and more stable emotions (P < 0.05). As far as side-effects were concerned, only mild discomforts including sore throat (13.4%) and dry mouth (9.8%) were recorded.
Conclusion:
The findings add clinical evidence to support the beneficial effects of herbal therapy on quality of life and vitality status in breast cancer patients. Therefore, herbal therapy has a potentially important role to play in managing psychological distress in cancer patients. This study also suggests that herbal therapy is clinically acceptable and can be used safely with breast cancer patients.
Acknowledgements
We thank Dr MCM Chan, Department of Surgery, Kwong Wah Hospital; Dr BKB Law, Department of Surgery, Prince of Wales Hospital; Dr WMM Yeo, Department of Clinical Oncology, the Chinese University of Hong Kong; and Dr PSY Cheung, Breast Surgery Associates, Hong Kong; for the recruitment of cancer patients for this study. This study was supported by the Innovation and Technology Fund, Hong Kong.
Authors’ contribution
All investigators contributed to the study design. CK Wong and WKC Lam provided the laboratory support and analysis. LYE Wong and PC Leung provided the results analysis. The manuscript was prepared by LYE Wong and vetted by other investigators.
Disclosure
All the investigators have no conflict interest.