title: Traditional herbal medicine for cancer pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The effectiveness of traditional herbal medicine (THM) as an adjunctive therapy for cancer pain is unclear.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the effectiveness of THM as an adjunctive therapy for cancer pain using randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
  
  
  METHODS
  Five electronic databases, including those from the UK and China, were systematically searched for the period before September 2013. All RCTs involving the use of THM in combination with conventional cancer therapy for cancer pain were included.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-four RCTs involving 4889 patients with cancer pain were systematically reviewed. Among them, nine studies of 952 patients reported a significant decrease in the number of patients with cancer pain in the treatment group. Four studies of 1696 patients reported a significant decrease in the degree of pain in the treatment group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of these studies suggest that THM combined with conventional therapy is efficacious as an adjunctive therapy for patients with cancer pain. However, more research, including well-designed, rigorous, and larger clinical trials, are necessary to address these issues.
authors.affiliation: Department of East-West Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jung-Woo
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of East-West Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, South Korea.
authors.forename: Won Bock
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of East-West Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, South Korea.
authors.forename: Woojin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of East-West Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, South Korea; Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, South Korea.
authors.forename: Byung-Il
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Min
authors.affiliation: Acupuncture and Meridian Science Research Center, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: HyangSook
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Hospital of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, #1 Heogi-Dong, Dongdaemun-Gu, Seoul 130-701, South Korea. Electronic address: chosh@khmc.or.kr.
authors.forename: Seung-Hun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D028321:Plant Preparations
keywords: Cancer pain; Meta-analysis; Systematic review; Traditional herbal medicine