title: Prescription patterns of Chinese herbal products for post-surgery colon cancer patients in Taiwan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is commonly provided to cancer patients, however, the patterns of prescriptions for this type of medicine in Taiwan are unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the use of traditional Chinese medicine products in colon cancer patients post-surgery in Taiwan and to research patterns of TCM.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional study of newly diagnosed colon cancer patients who received surgery between 2004 and 2008 identified from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan. The prescription patterns and reasons for the use of TCM for colon cancer were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results showed that "symptoms, signs and ill-defined conditions" (23.3%) and diseases of the digestive system (16.9%) were the most common reasons for using Chinese herbal medicine. Xiang-sha-liu-jun-zi-tang (7.1%), Bu-zhong-yi-qi-tang (4.3%), Jia-wei-xiao-yao-san (4.1%), Shen-Ling-Bai-Zhu-San (3.7%), Ban-Xia-Xie-Xin-Tang (3.4%), Gui-pi-tang (2.4%), Ping-Wei-San (2.4%), Gan-Lu-Yin (2.0%), Bao-He-Wan (1.9%), and Zhen-Ren-Huo-Ming-Yin (1.8%) were the most commonly prescribed single Chinese herbal formulae (CHF) for colon cancer patients post-surgery. Hedyotis diffusa Willd (Bai Hua She She Cao) (5.1%) and Scutellaria barbata (Ban Zhi Lian )(4.8%) were the most commonly prescribed single Chinese herbs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study identified patterns of TCM use in colon cancer patients post-surgery in Taiwan. The herbal ingredients were most commonly used for stimulate ghrelin secretion to increase food intake and had potential anti-tumor effect. However, further research is required to evaluate any beneficial effects which could identify leads for the development of new treatment strategies using TCM.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung 40705, Taiwan, ROC; Department of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Te-Hsin
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.affiliation: Division of Critical Care & Respiratory Therapy, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung 40705, Taiwan, ROC; Institute of Health Policy and Management, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Pin-Kuei
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 404, Taiwan, ROC; Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung 407, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Chiung-Hung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Research, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, #160, Section 3, Chung-Kang Rd., Taichung, Taichung 407, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Shih-Ni
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chiahung Mao
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Research, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, #160, Section 3, Chung-Kang Rd., Taichung, Taichung 407, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: epid@vghtc.gov.tw.
authors.forename: Ching-Heng
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013624:Taiwan; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal
keywords: Chinese herbal formula (CHF); Colon cancer; Prescription patterns; Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)