East Asian Herbal Medicine to Reduce Primary Pain and Adverse Events in Cancer Patients : A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis With Association Rule Mining to Identify Core Herb Combination

Study answer

What this study found

EAHM combined with conventional medicine was beneficial overall for cancer pain management. In ECCM versus conventional medicine, response rate improved (RR 1.06, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.09), continuous pain intensity decreased (SMD -1.74, 95% CI -2.17 to -1.30), duration of pain relief increased (SMD 0.96, 95% CI 0.69 to 1.22), Karnofsky performance status improved (WMD 10.71, 95% CI 4.89 to 16.53), and opioid use decreased (MD -20.66, 95% CI -30.22 to -11.10). Adverse events were also reduced across several symptom categories. EAHM monotherapy showed a smaller and less robust benefit, with…

Study & population

Systematic review and meta-analysis of 36 randomized controlled trials conducted in China in patients with primary cancer pain from various cancer types.

Intervention

Oral East Asian herbal medicine (EAHM) was evaluated either as monotherapy or added to conventional medicine (ECCM).

Key limitation

Overall evidence quality was low to moderate, and the methodological quality of the included trials was generally poor.

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Original abstract