Abstract:Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of Bushen Huoxue therapy against peripheral neurotoxicity induced by oxaliplatin.Methods A retrospective clinical case series of 48 patients with gastric cancer and colorectal cancer were included and reviewed in the study. These patients were divided into a TCM treatment group and a Western medicine control group, with 24 cases in each. The control group was treated with oxaliplatin plus capecitabine chemotherapy, and vitamin B6 was administered orally while the treatment group was supplemented with kidney-replenishing and blood-promoting Chinese medicine orally. The changes in peripheral neurotoxicity grades and KPS scores of the two groups were recorded and analyzed during four cycles of chemotherapy.Results Because of the low incidence of peripheral neurotoxicity in the first and second chemotherapy cycles, the difference in grades of peripheral neurotoxicity was not significant between the two groups. In the third cycle of chemotherapy, peripheral neurotoxicity was not detected in 9 cases, but 10 cases were found with Grade 1, and 5 cases with Grade 2 in the treatment group, compared to 4 cases, 9 cases and 11 cases respectively in the control group. The grade of peripheral neurotoxicity in the treatment group was lower than that in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). In the fourth cycle of chemotherapy, 5 cases didn’t suffer from peripheral neurotoxicity, but 11 cases were found with Grade 1, 7 cases with Grade 2 , and 1 case with Grade 3 in the treatment group, compared to 3 cases, 6 cases, 9 cases and 6 cases in the control group. After four cycles of chemotherapy, the KPS score of the treatment group was significantly improved to 77.5(70.0,87.5), compared to 70(70.0,87.5)in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant.Conclusions The Chinese herbs for tonifying the kidney and promoting blood circulation can reduce peripheral neurotoxicity more effectively than Western medicine alone
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