Intervention study of Fuzheng Xiaozheng formula on primary liver carcinoma patients after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization
XU Di,YANG Ding-hua,CHEN Yu
Abstract:
Objective To explore the efficacy of Fuzheng Xiaozheng formula in patients with primary liver carcinoma (PLC) after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE), and its influence on the expression levels of interleukin-12 (IL-12), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in peripheral blood. Methods A total of 108 PLC patients after TACE were randomly divided into a control group and an observation group (54 cases in each group). The control group received conventional Western medicine treatment, while the observation group was additionally administered Fuzheng Xiaozheng formula on the basis of the control group, one dose daily, taken twice in the morning and evening with warm water, for a 28-day course. The traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome scores, serum cytokine levels, liver function and clinical efficacy were evaluated in both groups. Results The TCM syndrome scores and total scores of the observation group were significantly lower than those of the control group (P <0.05), and the total clinical effective rate of the observation group was 98.0% (78.4% in the control group, P <0.05). On the 7th and 28th days after surgery, IL-12, VEGF, and MMP-9 in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P <0.05), while bFGF not statistically significant (P >0.05). Among patients with Stage Ⅰb, Ⅱa, and Ⅲa, the decrease of the above factors in the observation group was more significant (P <0.05). Conclusion Fuzheng Xiaozheng formula can alleviate symptoms in PLC patients after TACE and down-regulate the levels of peripheral blood related cytokines. Its mechanism may involve regulating inflammatory response, inhibiting tumor angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis.
