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Effect of traditional Chinese medicine combined with Western therapy on primary hepatic carcinoma: a systematic review with meta-analysis

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Abstract

Primary hepatic carcinoma (PHC) is a common malignant tumor in China. Cancer is comprehensively treated with various therapeutic regimes, including traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). TCM has been widely used to improve the quality of life, delay the time of cancer progression, and prolong the median survival time. This systematic review with meta-analysis aimed to assess the effect of TCM combined with Western therapy on primary hepatic carcinoma. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in six databases, including CNKI, VIP, Wan-Fang Database, CBM, PubMed, and Cochrane library. A total of 44 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 3429 participants suffering from PHC were selected. Meta-analysis results indicated that the overall effect of TCM and Western integrative treatment on PHC was higher than that of Western intervention alone, which can postpone tumor recurrence and metastasis and prolong the overall survival time of patients with PHC. Although the obtained evidence remained weak because of the poor methodological quality of the included studies, this review provided relevant data supporting the efficacy and safety of TCM combined with Western therapies. In future research, individual RCT studies should incorporate accepted standards for trial design and reporting, proper outcome indicators according to international standards, blinding in allocation concealment, and valid follow-up periods.

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Acknowledgements

This study is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 81373513 and 81274147), Research Projects of Key Disease of National Traditional Chinese Medicine (Hepatopathy) Clinical Research Center (Hubei Province) (No. JDZX2012054), Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Programs in Institution of Higher Education (No. 20124230110001), Key Subjects of Department of Science & Technology of Wuhan City (No. 201260523199), and Key Projects of Hubei Provincial Department of Education (No. D20152003).

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  1. Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, 430065, China

    Li Ma, Bin Wang & Yuanxiong Long

  2. Hepatopathy Institute, Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of Chinese Medicine (Chinese Medicine Hospital in Hubei Province), Wuhan, 430061, China

    Hanmin Li

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  1. Li Ma
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Correspondence to Hanmin Li.

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Ma, L., Wang, B., Long, Y. et al. Effect of traditional Chinese medicine combined with Western therapy on primary hepatic carcinoma: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Front. Med. 11, 191–202 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11684-017-0512-0

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