Photo by Alexander Baxevanis
An herbal mixture used in traditional Chinese medicine can reduce fatigue in cancer patients, results of a phase 1/2 study suggest.
The mixture, Ren Shen Yangrong Tang (RSYRT), is a soup containing 12 herbs.
In the study, cancer patients suffering from moderate to severe fatigue reported significantly less fatigue after taking RSYRT for 2 to 3 weeks.
Researchers reported these results in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
Yichen Xu, MD, of Beijing Cancer Hospital & Institute in China, and colleagues evaluated RSYRT in 33 patients who had completed cancer treatment. The patients had stable disease and no anemia.
Eleven patients had moderate fatigue (a score of 4-6 on a 0-10 scale), and 22 had severe fatigue (a score of 7-10). All patients had experienced fatigue for at least 4 months.
Patients took RSYRT twice a day for 6 weeks and experienced a significant decrease in fatigue severity. The mean fatigue score decreased from 7.06 at baseline to 3.30 at the 6-week mark (P<0.001).
The fatigue category also changed significantly (P=0.024). Among the 22 patients who had severe fatigue before RSYRT, half had mild fatigue after therapy, and half had moderate fatigue.
Among the 11 patients who had moderate fatigue at baseline, only 1 still had moderate fatigue after receiving RSYRT. The rest had mild fatigue.
All of the patients said they felt better after taking RSYRT for 4 weeks.
There were no “uncomfortable events” related to RSYRT, such as gastrointestinal upset, insomnia, headache, or rash. None of the patients required a dose reduction or dose interruption.
None of the patients had blood chemistry abnormalities or abnormal liver/kidney function. Two patients who had a change in ST segment before RSYRT had normal electrocardiogram results after treatment.
