Clinical efficacy and action mechanism of mild moxibustion combined with salt-separated moxibustion for gastrointestinal response in breast-cancer chemotherapy patients

Abstract

To evaluate the clinical efficacy and partial action mechanism of mild moxibustion combined with salt-separated moxibustion for gastrointestinal discomfort caused by chemotherapy for breast cancer. A total of 48 patients were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 24 cases in each group. The patients in the control group were treated with intravenous infusion of tropisetron hydrochloride (5 mg), once a day for three days; the patients in the observation group were additionally treated with mild moxibustion at Zusanli (ST 36), Zhongwan (CV 12), Guanyuan (CV 4), Qihai (CV 6) and salt-separated moxibustion at Shenque (CV 8), 15 min per treatment, once a day for 7 days. Before treatment and on the 7th day of chemotherapy, the levels of pepsinogenⅠ(PGⅠ), pepsinogenⅡ (PGⅡ), the ratio of PGⅠto PGⅡ (PGR) and gastrin 17 (G-17) in serum were measured. Before treatment and on the 3rd, 5th, 7th day of chemotherapy, the gastrointestinal reactions (nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea) were compared between the two groups. On the 7th day of chemotherapy, the serum levels of PGⅠ, PGⅡand G-17 in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05), and the difference in the level of PGR in serum between the observation group and the control group was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The total scores of nausea, vomiting and constipation during chemotherapy in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (all P<0.05). The mild moxibustion combined with salt-separated moxibustion could effectively improve the symptoms of nausea, vomiting and constipation caused by chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer, and its mechanism may be related to the down-regulation of the levels of PGⅠ, PGⅡ and G-17 in serum.