title: Clinical evaluation of oral Fructus bruceae oil combined with radiotherapy for the treatment of esophageal cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy and side effects of oral Fructus bruceae oil combined with radiotherapy in the treatment of esophageal cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 80 patients with esophageal cancer were equally and randomly divided into two groups. The patients in Group A were treated with radiotherapy (60-65 Gy, 6-7 weeks) and oral Fructus bruceae oil (20 mL, 3 times per day for 12 weeks), while the patients in Group B were treated with radiotherapy alone. The short-term effect was evaluated by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) and quality of life (QOL) was evaluated by the Karnofsky scoring (KFS). The outcome measures included complete remission (CR) rate, partial remission (PR) rate, effective rate as CR+PR, patients' QOL and adverse effects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After 12-week treatment, the CR and CR+PR were significantly higher in Group A than those in Group B (P <0.05). There was an improvement in esophageal obstruction of 87.5% and 60.0%, respectively, and in KFS of 84.6% and 43.9%, respectively, in Groups A and B.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Oral medication with oral Fructus bruceae oil could effectively improve the efficacy of radiotherapy in esophageal cancer, including a reduction in esophageal obstruction, and also reduce the side effects of radiotherapy; thus it would be very promising for clinical application.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Zhengzhou People's Hospital, China. peter_hua@sohu.com
authors.forename: Guo-yong
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Guo-wen
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yong-shun
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xing-an
authors.initials: XA
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jian-kun
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000089003:Brucea javanica; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008517:Phytotherapy; D032271:Quassia; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: C571445:Brucea javanica fruit extract; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal