[Effects of Ru'ai Shuhou Recipe on 5-year recurrence rate after mastectomy in breast cancer].
OBJECTIVE
To observe the effects of Ru'ai Shuhou Recipe (RSR), a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine, on 5-year recurrence rate after mastectomy in breast cancer.


METHODS
A total of 300 patients with breast cancer were divided into two groups: treatment group and control group. The patients in the treatment group were treated with Western medicine and RSR, and the patients in the control group were treated only with Western medicine (the same as the treatment group). In the two groups, the 5-year recurrence rates after mastectomy in breast cancer were investigated.


RESULTS
Thirty-four breast cancer patients were lost to five-year follow-up during the course of investigation, and 266 breast cancer patients went through the evaluation. The 5-year recurrence rate after mastectomy in the treatment group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). The recurrence rate after mastectomy was influenced by positive lymph node, primary breast tumor size, clinical stage, and patients' health status. There was significant difference in the 5-year recurrence rates between the two groups (P<0.05) under the following conditions, such as the positive lymph nodes more than four, the primary breast tumor larger than two centimeters, and in the clinical stage II and III, estrogen receptor (ER)-positive/progesterone receptor (PR)-positive and ER-negative/PR-negative. The recurrence rate was not associated with the operation method and age distribution.


CONCLUSIONS
RSR can reduce the 5-year recurrence rate after mastectomy in breast cancer.
Department of Breast Surgery, Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200032, China. yige823@yahoo.com.cn
Sheng
S
Liu
Jing
J
Zhao
Jia
J
Liu
Zhen-Ping
ZP
Sun
Yong-Qiang
YQ
Hua
De-Ming
DM
Lu
Han-Jun
HJ
Tang
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008408:Mastectomy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000517:prevention & control; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008517:Phytotherapy; D011184:Postoperative Period
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal