title: Traditional herbal medicine as adjunctive therapy for nasopharyngeal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: The effectiveness of traditional herbal medicine (THM) as treatment for nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) has not been clearly demonstrated. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of THM as adjunctive therapies for NPC using the results of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Five electronic databases, including English and Chinese databases, were systematically searched up to February 2014. All RCTs involving traditional herbal medicine in combination with conventional cancer therapy for NPC were included. Twenty-two RCTs involving 2,298 NPC patients were systematically reviewed. Of these 22 studies, 15 on 1482 patients reported a significant increase in the number surviving patients with survivals of more than 1, 3, or 5 years. Seven studies on 595 patients reported a significant increase in immediate tumor response, and three studies on 505 patients reported a significant decrease in distant metastasis. This meta-analysis of 22 studies suggests that THM combined with conventional therapy can provide an effective adjunctive therapy for NPC. More research and well-designed, rigorous, large clinical trials are required to address these issues.
authors.affiliation: Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Woojin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Won-Bock
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jungwoo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Byung-Il
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Min
authors.affiliation: Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: HyangSook
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea chosh@khu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Seung-Hun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional / Q000379:methods*; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal
keywords: Chinese medicine; alternative medicine; nasopharyngeal cancer; systematic review; traditional herbal medicine