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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Pharmacology of Anti-Cancer Drugs
Volume 15 - 2024 |
doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1388646
Xiaoyaosan formula plus adjuvant chemotherapy improves quality of life, psychological distress, and spiritual well-being compared with adjuvant chemotherapy alone in postoperative breast cancer patients
Provisionally accepted- Department of Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China
Objective: Xiaoyaosan (XYS), a traditional Chinese formula, not only has good antitumour effects but also attenuates distress, anorexia, and quality of life (QoL) by regulating neurology, the microbiota, immunology and oxidative stress. This study aimed to assess the effect of XYS on QoL, psychological pressure, and spiritual well-being in breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy. Methods: This prospective cohort study enrolled 176 postoperative breast cancer patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy combined with (n=81) or without (n=95) XYS for comparison. The Quality-of-Life Questionnaire Core-30 (QLQ-C30), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), University of California Los Angeles (UCLA-LS), and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-being (FACIT-Sp) scores were evaluated before adjuvant chemotherapy (T0) and after the 1st (T1), 2nd (T2), 3rd (T3), and 4th cycles (T4) of adjuvant chemotherapy. Results: XYS improved the QLQ-C30 score at T2 (P=0.043), T3 (P=0.021), and T4 (P=0.040) and the QLQ-C30 score at T4 (P=0.027); moreover, XYS attenuated the QLQ-C30 score at T2 (P=0.040), T3 (P=0.023), and T4 (P=0.027). Regarding distress, XYS reduced the HADS-anxiety score at T2 (P=0.010), T3 (P=0.025), and T4 (P=0.019) and the HADS-defined anxiety score at T3 (P=0.038). XYS also decreased the HADS-depression score at T2 (P=0.016), T3 (P=0.018), and T4 (P=0.017) and the HADS-defined depression rate at T2 (P=0.047), T3 (P=0.012), and T4 (P=0.013). In addition, XYS decreased the UCLA-LS at T2 (P=0.023) but enhanced the FACIT-Sp at T2 (P=0.029) and T4 (P=0.026). Furthermore, after adjustment via propensity score matching, most of the significant findings remained. Conclusion: The addition of XYS to adjuvant chemotherapy improved QoL, psychological health, and spiritual well-being in breast cancer patients.
Keywords: Postoperative breast cancer, Xiaoyaosan, Adjuvant chemotherapy, Quality of Life, Psychological pressure
Received: 27 Feb 2024; Accepted: 12 Jul 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Wang and Yin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Lianfang Yin, Department of Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Chao Wang