Volume 23, Issue 2, April 2015, Pages 251–256
Summary
Objective
A
case is presented to illustrate a potential effect of Chinese herbal
medicine (CHM) formulas in treating chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity.
Clinical presentation
An
18-year-old adolescent male with refractory acute lymphoblastic
leukemia (ALL) had experienced anthracycline-induced congestive heart
failure (CHF) for 3 weeks. Under intensive care with conventional
therapy, the patient still had exercise intolerance and depended on
supplemental oxygen all day. Therefore, he consented to treatment with
traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for alternative therapy.
Interventions and outcomes
This
patient was treated with modified Zhi Gan Cao Tang (ZGCT), three times a
day for 2 months. After 6 days of CHM treatment, the patient could
tolerate daily activity without supplemental oxygen. After 2 months of
CHM treatment, the follow-up chest X-ray showed great improvements in
pulmonary edema and cardiomegaly.
Conclusions
In
this case, anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity resolved slowly
following the administration of modified ZGCT. It is suggested that the
CHM formula has a protective effect on the progression of CHF secondary
to the use of anthracyclines in pediatric cancer. Further studies to
determine the mechanism and clinical trials are warranted.
Keywords
- Traditional Chinese medicine;
- Chemotherapy;
- Heart failure;
- Zhi Gan Cao Tang
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
