Integrative Cancer Therapies (Jun 2021)

Effectiveness of Herbal Medicine for Leukopenia/Neutropenia Induced by Chemotherapy in Adults with Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

  • Shao-Hua Yan MD,
  • Shuo Feng PhD,
  • Yun Xu PhD,
  • Yun-Zi Yan MD,
  • Bin He PhD,
  • Ling-Yun Sun PhD,
  • Bing Pang PhD,
  • Wen-Jia Liu MD,
  • Yu-Ying Xu MD,
  • Na Zhao MD,
  • Mo Tang MD,
  • Yue Chen MD,
  • Ming-Kun Yu MD,
  • Yu-Fei Yang PhD

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/15347354211021654
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 20

Abstract

Read online

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) on leukopenia/neutropenia induced by chemotherapy in adults with colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods: Eight electronic databases were searched from their inception to June 2020. Randomized controlled trials with clarified sequence generation were qualified. Two reviewers independently conducted the screening and data extraction. Methodological quality was assessed using the Risk of Bias tool. RevMan 5.4 was applied to the meta-analysis. Results: Twenty-seven studies involving 1867 participants were qualified, of which 26 were included in the quantitative synthesis. Meta-analysis showed that CHM significantly reduced the incidence of leukopenia induced by chemotherapy (RR = 0.69; 95% CI 0.59-0.82), as well as the grade 3/4 leukopenia (RR = 0.71; 95% CI 0.55-0.90). Meanwhile,CHM decreased the occurrence of neutropenia (RR = 0.52, 95% CI 0.35-0.77), especially for the grades 3/4 neutropenia (RR = 0.42, 95% CI 0.27-0.64). Twenty-six of the included studies focused on the adverse events related to CHM. Conclusion: CHM may relieve neutropenia/leukopenia induced by chemotherapy in adults with colorectal cancer.