title: Chinese Herbal Medicine as Adjunctive Therapy to Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
abstract: Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been increasingly employed during therapy for breast cancer, but its efficacy remains a matter of debate. This systematic review examined randomized controlled trials to provide a critical evaluation of this treatment. The results demonstrated that the combined use of CHM with chemotherapy may improve the immediate tumor response and reduce chemotherapy-associated adverse events. Our findings highlight the poor quality of Chinese studies, and additional well-designed randomized controlled trials addressing the role of CHM are warranted. The lack of molecular-based evidence for CHM and Zheng has resulted in a limited understanding and acceptance of CHM and traditional Chinese medicine in Western countries. We believe that researchers should immediately explore a CHM-based cure, and CHM should be applied to routine care as soon as conclusive data are available.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100010, China.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100010, China; Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100010, China; Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Jia-Yun
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Nian
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100010, China; Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Jiao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Third Affiliated Hospital of Henan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou 450000, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100010, China.
authors.forename: Gan-Lin
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100010, China.
authors.forename: Ming-Wei
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100010, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100010, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Min
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100010, China.
authors.forename: Guo-Wang
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100010, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100010, China.
authors.forename: Pei-Yu
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100010, China; Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, 75123 Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jin-Ping
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Li