title: Clinical and experimental studies on stomach carcinoma treated with Yangwei Kangliu granules.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the anti-cancer mechanism of Yangwei Kangliu (YWKL) granules from the view point of red blood cell (RBC) immunity and to investigate the relationship between RBC immunity and T lymphocyte immunity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty patients with advanced gastric carcinoma were treated with a combination of YWKL granules and chemotherapy. Venous blood samples were obtained before treatment and after one course of treatment. The rosette rate of c-3b-receptor (RBC-C-3bRR), tumor and red cell (RRTR) and RBC immune complex (RBC-ICR) were measured under microscopy by counting the rosettes formed by sensitized or unsensitized yeast adherence. The T lymphocyte subset was observed by the method of APAAP. Control patients were treated with chemotherapy alone (n = 20). In addition, mouse tumor studies were performed to investigate the dynamic changes of RBC-C-3bRR, RRTR and RBC-ICR in response to treatment with YWKL granules (n = 30). Mice treated with chemotherapy alone (n = 30) or water alone (n = 30) were used as controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The clinical therapeutic effect of combination treatment with YWKL granules and chemotherapy (i.e. the treatment group) was markedly superior to that of chemotherapy alone (i.e. the control group) (P < 0.01). In the treatment group, the rosette rates of RBC-C-3bRR and of RRTR were significantly increased (P < 0.01) after treatment, the rate of RBC-ICR was markedly decreased (P < 0.01), and the ratio of CD4 to CD8 was obviously elevated (P < 0.01). Moreover, CD8 was much lower (P < 0.01) and the ratio of CD4 to CD8 was much higher (P < 0.01) than that in the control group. The RRTR rate was positively correlated with the ratio of CD4 to CD8. In mice, on day 9 of bearing cancer, the tumor weight in the group treated with YWKL granules alone was much lower than that of the tumors in the control mice groups; in addition, the YWKL treated mice showed higher RBC immune function than the mice of the two control groups. On day 13 of bearing cancer, however, the differences in both tumor weight and RBC immune function had disappeared.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The anti-cancer mechanism of YWKL granules may involve enhancement of RBC immunity and of T lymphocyte immune function, which is supported by the finding of RBC immune function being correlated with T lymphocyte immune function.
authors.affiliation: Wen-Ping Lu, Gui-Zhi Sun, Bing-Kui Piao, Hai-Tao Dong, Zong-Yan Yang, Hong-Sheng Lin, Department of Tumor, Guanganmen Hospital, China Academy of TCM, Beijing 100053, China.
authors.forename: W P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Wen-Ping Lu, Gui-Zhi Sun, Bing-Kui Piao, Hai-Tao Dong, Zong-Yan Yang, Hong-Sheng Lin, Department of Tumor, Guanganmen Hospital, China Academy of TCM, Beijing 100053, China.
authors.forename: G Z
authors.initials: GZ
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Wen-Ping Lu, Gui-Zhi Sun, Bing-Kui Piao, Hai-Tao Dong, Zong-Yan Yang, Hong-Sheng Lin, Department of Tumor, Guanganmen Hospital, China Academy of TCM, Beijing 100053, China.
authors.forename: B K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Piao
authors.affiliation: Wen-Ping Lu, Gui-Zhi Sun, Bing-Kui Piao, Hai-Tao Dong, Zong-Yan Yang, Hong-Sheng Lin, Department of Tumor, Guanganmen Hospital, China Academy of TCM, Beijing 100053, China.
authors.forename: H T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Wen-Ping Lu, Gui-Zhi Sun, Bing-Kui Piao, Hai-Tao Dong, Zong-Yan Yang, Hong-Sheng Lin, Department of Tumor, Guanganmen Hospital, China Academy of TCM, Beijing 100053, China.
authors.forename: Z Y
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Wen-Ping Lu, Gui-Zhi Sun, Bing-Kui Piao, Hai-Tao Dong, Zong-Yan Yang, Hong-Sheng Lin, Department of Tumor, Guanganmen Hospital, China Academy of TCM, Beijing 100053, China.
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Lin
keywords: RBC immunity; Stomach neoplasms; Yangwei Kangliu granules