title: Adjuvant effects of fermented red ginseng extract on advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with chemotherapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the adjuvant therapeutic effects of fermented red ginseng (FRG) extract on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with chemotherapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 60 patients with advanced NSCLC were divided into two groups using a random number table, i.e., the gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GP) chemotherapy alone group (26 patients) and the FRG + GP chemotherapy group (34 patients), for 60-day treatment. Patients were then assessed according to the Fatigue Symptom Inventory, Chinese medicine symptoms score, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, Self-Rating Depression Scale, Karnofsky Performance Status Scale, and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung. In addition, chemotherapy toxicity and tumor biomarkers were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For NSCLC patients after chemotherapy, FRG extract significantly improved the FSI score, CM symptoms score, psychological status, physical conditions, and quality of life and reduced chemotherapy toxicity, but the expression levels of carcinoembryonic antigen, cytokeratin-19 fragments, and neuron-specific enolase were not significantly different between the chemotherapy alone and the FRG + chemotherapy groups or between pre- and post-treatments.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrated that FRG extract had an adjuvant effect on advanced NSCLC patients treated with chemotherapy. Further studies with a larger sample size will verify the current findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100053, China.|Department of Oncology, Jining First People's Hospital, Jining, Shandong Province, 272000, China.
authors.forename: Shu-Long
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China.
authors.forename: Hong-Jie
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of International Education, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, 250000, China.
authors.forename: Zhao-Chun
authors.initials: ZC
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Jining First People's Hospital, Jining, Shandong Province, 272000, China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100053, China.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation (IACF), Joongbu University, Daejeon, 999007, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Reep
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oriental Health Care, Joongbu University, Daejeon, 999007, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Joong-Gu
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Department of Stomatology, Jining First People's Hospital, Jining, Shandong Province, 272000, China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100053, China. huabaojin@sohu.com.
authors.forename: Bao-Jin
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Hua
authors.affiliation: Department of Herbal Pharmaceutical Science, Joongbu University, Daejeon, 999007, Republic of Korea. sjkang@joongbu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Shin-Jyung
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kang
mesh_terms: D000277:Adjuvants, Pharmaceutic / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005285:Fermentation; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D005894:Panax; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000277:Adjuvants, Pharmaceutic; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D010936:Plant Extracts
keywords: Chinese medicine; Korean red ginseng; chemotoxicity; fermented red ginseng extract; lung cancer; tumor adjuvant therapy