New research has suggested that Chinese herbal medicine could have a positive impact on the effectiveness of platinum-based chemotherapy drugs.

According to analysis of 34 studies, brought together and reviewed by scientists at the University of California, Astragalus-based Chinese herbal medicine could help to increase the effectiveness of the platinum-based drugs when used for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The research found that patients treated with Astragalus-based herbal medicine and chemotherapy had a 33 per cent reduced risk of death during the first 12 months, while tumour response to treatment was increased 34 per cent.

However, while the results are promising, the researchers warn that several of the evaluated studies were of low quality, adding that these initial findings would need to be reinforced by controlled randomised trials.

The study, which is published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, concludes that while Astragalus-based herbal medicine in conjunction with platinum-based drugs may help to improve the effectiveness of the drugs, "confirmation of these conclusions in rigorously controlled, randomised trials is required before more firm conclusions about this therapy can be drawn".


Ÿ Adfero Ltd