Prevention and Treatment of Radiation-Induced Esophagitis With Oral Herbal Medicine: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Abstract
Background: Radiation therapy is commonly used for the curative or palliative treatment of lung, esophageal, breast, or mediastinal tumors, with radiation-induced esophagitis (RIE) being a prevalent adverse event. Despite its high incidence, no cure has been identified for RIE, and validated treatment methods remain elusive. This systematic review explores global clinical research on herbal medicines for RIE treatment, assessing their efficacy in prevention and treatment. Methods: A comprehensive literature search across 5 databases targeted randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs). RCTs published before June 2024 were eligible if they investigated herbal medicine use for RIE prevention or treatment. Using Cochrane methodology and RevMan 5.4 software, a meta-analysis was conducted, and the certainty of evidence was evaluated with the GRADE system. Results: Following the literature selection process, 81 RCTs with 7283 patients were included in the analysis. All studies administered herbal medicine to the treatment group and usual care with conventional medicine to the control group. Meta-analysis revealed that, in terms of overall incidence rate, herbal medicine demonstrated a significantly greater preventive effect compared to usual care (relative risk [RR]: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.65–0.78). Similarly, herbal medicine showed superior efficacy in improving RIE treatment outcomes compared to usual care (RR: 1.29; 95% CI: 1.21–1.38). Herbal medicine exhibited a comparable safety…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid. Reported size: 7,283 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Antioxidant efficacy and the upregulation of Nrf2-mediated HO-1 expression by (+)-lariciresinol, a lignan isolated from Rubia philippinensis, through the activation of p38
- Anti-influenza virus activity of green tea by-products in vitro and efficacy against influenza virus infection in chickens
- Therapeutic Potential of Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) and MSC-Derived Extracellular Vesicles for the Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury
- The intratumoral administration of ferucarbotran conjugated with doxorubicin improved therapeutic effect by magnetic hyperthermia combined with pharmacotherapy in a hepatocellular carcinoma model
- Enhanced anticancer efficacy of TRAIL-conjugated and odanacatib-loaded PLGA nanoparticles in TRAIL resistant cancer
- In vivo tracking of bioorthogonally labeled T-cells for predicting therapeutic efficacy of adoptive T-cell therapy
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.