title: Use of a novel herbal medicine in a 75-year-old woman with multi-metastatic pancreatic cancer: A case report and review of the literature.
abstract: Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive types of malignant tumors and is associated with an extremely poor prognosis. Despite numerous research efforts over the last few years, little progress has been made in the understanding and treatment of the disease. Gemcitabine-based regimens are considered as the first-line treatment for pancreatic cancer, but the effects of chemotherapy on the disease are limited. Natural products extracted from herbs represent a valuable resource for novel bioactive anticancer agents and could benefit multi-metastasis pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group status of 3. Biological intra-control cancer treatment (BICT) is a novel systemic therapy involving palliative care and herbal extract combinations [including ginseng (Panax ginsengC.A. Mey.), Herba Agrimonia (Agrimonia pilosaLedeb.), White Flower Patrinia Herb (Thlaspi arvenseLinn.) and arginine], which has been approved by the State Food and Drug Association. The treatment is intended to regulate and inhibit blood vessel generation and tumor growth by inhibiting epidermal growth factor receptor and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor expression, and to manage symptoms to improve the quality of the treatment. The present study discusses the case of a 75-year-old female diagnosed with pancreatic cancer with multiple metastases in the liver and lymph nodes. The patient was administered BICT and achieved survival for 11 months without side-effects of a severity greater than grade 1 according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events. The study also describes a possible approach to providing palliative care and treating late-stage, metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinomas in elderly patients.
authors.affiliation: Oncology Department, Western China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, Chengdu, Sichuan 610036, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yanchu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Chengdu Fuxing Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan 610036, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xianyong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Functional Medicine, Better Being Hospital, Bangkok 10110, Thailand.
authors.forename: Pairotetorsak
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tip
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Chengdu Fuxing Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan 610036, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lingyan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
keywords: elderly patient; herbal medicine; metastasis; pancreatic cancer; prognosis