Astragalus injection as an adjuvant treatment for colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis

Background: The combination of Chinese patent medicine Astragalus injection and Western medicine has achieved a certain clinical effect in colorectal cancer patients. However, due to the uneven basic conditions and research indicators of these clinical trials, it is difficult to comprehensively evaluate the effect of Astragalus injection in the adjuvant treatment of colorectal cancer. This study aimed to systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of Astragalus injection as an adjuvant treatment for colorectal cancer. Methods: The Cochrane Library, VIP database, Wanfang database, and Chinese Academic Journal Full Text database were searched for potentially eligible articles from inception to December 15, 2018. Randomized controlled trials in which patients were diagnosed with colorectal cancer were included. Patients in the control group received chemotherapy alone or combined with other drugs, or chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy. Patients in the experimental group were treated with Astragalus injection combined with interventions in the control group. Results: A total of 8 articles were included. Compared with Western medicine alone, the Astragalus injection could improve the therapeutic effect (RR=1.18, 95% CI (1.01, 1.38), P=0.03), improved the quality of life of colorectal cancer patients (SMD=1.18, 95% CI (0.86, 1.50), P 0.001), inhibited leukopenia (RR=0.55, 95% CI (0.42, 0.71), P 0.001), reduced neurotoxicity (RR=0.43, 95% CI (0.34, 0.56), P 0.001), and reduced the incidence of nausea and vomiting (RR=0.67, 95% CI (0.55, 0.80), P 0.001). Conclusion: Astragalus injection can reduce the toxicity and improve the efficiency of the conventional Western medicine in the treatment of colorectal cancer.