Astragalus-Based Chinese Herbs May Boost Chemotherapy's Punch

By Megan Rauscher

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Feb 14 -

Astragalus-based Chinese herbs appear to augment the effectiveness of platinum-based chemotherapy for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer, according to a meta-analysis of 34 randomized trials representing 2,815 patients.

"This meta-analysis was motivated by a large number of published trials of Astragalus-based Chinese herbal medicines combined with platinum-based chemotherapy, and the continuing problems of low efficacy and high toxicity in standard chemotherapy treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer," explain investigators in the January 20th Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Of 1,305 "potentially relevant" publications, researchers selected 34 in which advanced non-small-cell lung cancer patients were randomized to Chinese herbal medicine containing the herb Astragalus in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy or platinum-based chemotherapy alone.

"Twelve studies (940 patients) reported that Chinese herbal medicines reduced the risk of death at 12 months by roughly one-third," Michael McCulloch, a doctoral student in epidemiology at the University of California, Berkeley, and lead author of the paper told Reuters Health.

"In another two studies (221 patients), herbal formula Jin Fu Kang reduced the risk of death at 24 months by nearly half and in another four studies (257 patients), herbal formula Ai Di injection stabilized or improved patient's ability to conduct everyday tasks by 28%," he said.

McCulloch cautioned, however, that these results "provide only preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicines in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy."

Prior to being incorporated into practice, these results require confirmation with rigorously controlled trials, he added.

"We hope that our study will stimulate continued interest in researching the potential benefits of combining Chinese herbal therapy with conventional therapies for people with cancer," McCulloch said.

Cancer 2006;24:419-430.