Addition of certain herbal medicines to chemotherapy may increase survival and quality of life in patients with advanced colorectal cancer
- Correspondence to: Oluwadamilola Olaku
Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Cancer Institute, 6116 Executive Blvd, Suite 609, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; olakuo{at}mail.nih.gov
Commentary on:
Implications for practice and research
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Well-conducted randomised clinical trials are needed to confirm the benefit(s) of Chinese herbal medicine in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer.
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The strength of evidence of this review is not adequate to support the use of Chinese herbal medicines with chemotherapy in the treatment of colorectal cancer.
Context
The objective of this review was to evaluate the beneficial effects and safety of Chinese herbal medicine therapy for advanced stage colorectal cancer, and its influence on patients’ quality of life. Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer in men and the third most common cancer in women worldwide.1 ,2 It is estimated that there are nearly 1.2 million men and women …
