Effects of Xihuangwan in assistant treatment of patients with advanced breast cancer

Abstract

In order to explore the possibility of Xihuangwan (XHW)'s application in assistant therapy in patients with breast cancer, short- and long-term clinical efficacy were assessed in this study. Eighty and four patients with advanced breast cancer were selected in this study. They were divided into control group and treatment group randomly and evenly. All patients received surgical treatment followed by chemotherapy regimen composed of PTX + EPI + CTX (TEC regimen). Treatment group received additional assistant treatment of XHW. Short-term clinical efficacy was assessed by KPS, lesion stabilizing rate and side effects in 3-month follow-up study. Long-term clinical efficacy was assessed by overall survival (OS) and free-progression survival (FPS). KPS increased significantly after treatment in all patients (P < 0.05), more significantly in treatment group than in control group after treatment (P < 0.05); lesion stabilizing rate in treatment group increased significantly in treatment group than in control group (92.86% vs. 85.71%, P < 0.05); there was no significant difference between control group and treatment group in occurrence of side effects. Compared with control group, OS and FPS increased significantly in treatment group. Data in this study showed that XHW was suitable in treatment of advanced breast cancer due to its satisfactory short-term and long-term therapeutic effects.