Influence of elemene on curative effect and life quality for patients with recurrent ovarian cancer with ascites

Abstract

Objective To explore the effect of elemene on recurrent ovarian cancer with ascites and the impact on the life quality. Methods From August 2013 to July 2015, 64 patients with recurrent ovarian cancer with ascites in Huangdao District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Qingdao were collected. They were divided into control group (n=32) and observation group (n=32) by random number table. Patients in observation group were treated with elemene and cisplatin by intraperitoneal perfusion, and patients in control group were treated with cisplatin alone. The effects and life quality were compared between the two groups. Results There were 10 cases of complete response (CR), 13 cases of partial response (PR), 6 cases of stable disease (SD), 3 cases of progressive disease (PD), 71.88% of overall response rate (ORR) in the control group; and there were 19 cases of CR, 9 cases of PR, 3 cases of SD, 1 case of PD, 87.50% of ORR in the observation group, with significant difference (Z=-2.312, P=0.021). There were significant diffe-rences about the physical function (61.66±9.27 vs. 51.66±15.73; t=-3.102, P=0.003), role function (59.89±13.29 vs. 45.83±19.40; t=-3.383, P=0.001), emotional function (49.73±11.29 vs. 30.72±13.45; t=-6.120, P=0.000), cognitive function (62.50±13.39 vs. 50.00±19.40; t=-3.000, P=0.004), total health status (54.69±10.99 vs. 42.97±14.98; t=-3.568, P=0.001), symptoms of fatigue (38.53±13.23 vs. 47.57±19.39; t=2.175, P=0.033), nausea and vomiting scores (19.27±4.77 vs. 36.45±12.29; t=5.483, P=0.000) and symptoms of insomnia (23.95±10.77 vs. 38.54±11.46; t=2.216, P=0.030) between the observation and control groups. There were no differences about the social function (37.50±17.96 vs. 36.97±16.79; t=-0.120, P=0.905), symptoms of pain (23.43±9.58 vs. 22.92±9.19; t=-0.118, P=0.906), difficult breathing (19.79±6.49 vs. 16.67±5.74; t=-0.606, P=0.547), anorexia (63.54±25.90 vs. 66.67±18.93; t=0.551, P=0.584), constipation (27.08±10.59 vs. 23.96±9.14; t=-0.545, P=0.588), diarrhea (63.54±25.90 vs. 66.67±18.93; t=0.551, P=0.584) and economic hardship (60.41±21.03 vs. 65.62±29.91; t=0.683, P=0.497) between the observation and control groups. Conclusion Elemene combined with cisplatin achieves the better efficacy on recurrent ovarian cancer with ascites by intraperitoneal perfusion, which has the potential to further improve the patient′s life quality, and deserves to be studied and promoted application. Key words: Ovarian neoplasms; Treatment outcome; Quality of life; Elemene