Volume 23, Issue 2, April 2015, Pages 265–274
Traditional herbal medicine for cancer pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis
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Highlights
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- Integrative THM and conventional therapy for cancer pain are systematically reviewed.
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- Significant decrease in the number of patients with pain in integrative therapy.
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- Significant decrease in the degree of pain in integrative therapy.
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- Integrative THM and conventional therapy are efficacious for cancer pain.
Summary
Background
The effectiveness of traditional herbal medicine (THM) as an adjunctive therapy for cancer pain is unclear.
Objective
To assess the effectiveness of THM as an adjunctive therapy for cancer pain using randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
Methods
Five
electronic databases, including those from the UK and China, were
systematically searched for the period before September 2013. All RCTs
involving the use of THM in combination with conventional cancer therapy
for cancer pain were included.
Results
Twenty-four
RCTs involving 4889 patients with cancer pain were systematically
reviewed. Among them, nine studies of 952 patients reported a
significant decrease in the number of patients with cancer pain in the
treatment group. Four studies of 1696 patients reported a significant
decrease in the degree of pain in the treatment group.
Conclusion
The
results of these studies suggest that THM combined with conventional
therapy is efficacious as an adjunctive therapy for patients with cancer
pain. However, more research, including well-designed, rigorous, and
larger clinical trials, are necessary to address these issues.
Keywords
- Traditional herbal medicine;
- Cancer pain;
- Systematic review;
- Meta-analysis
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