Abstract
Cancer related fatigue (CRF) is one of the most common side effects of cancer and its treatments. A large proportion of cancer patients experience cancer-related physical and central fatigue so new strategies are needed for treatment and improved survival of these patients. BST204 was prepared by incubating crude ginseng extract with ginsenoside-β-glucosidase. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of BST204, mixture of ginsenosides on 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-induced CRF, the glycogen synthesis, and biochemical parameters in mice. The mice were randomly divided into the following groups: the naïve normal (normal), the HT-29 cell inoculated (xenograft), xenograft and 5-FU treated (control), xenograft + 5-FU + BST204-treated (100 and 200 mg/kg) (BST204), and xenograft + 5-FU + modafinil (13 mg/kg) treated group (modafinil). Running wheel activity and forced swimming test were used for evaluation of CRF. Muscle glycogen, serum inflammatory cytokines, aspartic aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), creatinine (CRE), white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil (NEUT), red blood cell (RBC), and hemoglobin (HGB) were measured. Treatment with BST204 significantly increased the running wheel activity and forced swimming time compared to the control group. Consistent with the behavioral data, BST204 markedly increased muscle glycogen activity and concentrations of WBC, NEUT, RBC, and HGB. Also, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), AST, ALT, and CRE levels in the serum were significantly reduced in the BST204-treated group compared to the control group. This result suggests that BST204 may improve chemotherapy-related fatigue and adverse toxic side effects.
Highlights
Colorectal cancer accounts for almost 50,000 deaths each year in the United States and remains the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality [1]
A significant increase in running wheel activity was observed in BST204-treated or modafinil treated mice, compared to only 5-FU treated control mice
This study proved that the treatment with BST204 produced a significant decrease of physical fatigue in the running wheel activity and forced swimming test at the 27th day compared to that of the control group
Summary
Colorectal cancer accounts for almost 50,000 deaths each year in the United States and remains the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality [1]. While surgical resection remains the gold standard of treatment for localized disease, chemotherapy combinations with oxaliplatin, irinotecan, and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) have led to significant improvements in survival at all stages [2,3,4,5] These chemotherapies negatively impact physical and social function including cancer-related physical and central fatigue. Chemotherapy is known to increase concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β in cancer patients. These cytokines can influence appetite, pain, sleep disturbance, anorexia, or anemia which may interact to produce fatigue, accompanied by hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, or hematosuppression in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy [7,8,9,10,11,12]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
