Efficacy and safety of huachansu capsules for the treatment of esophageal cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The objective of this study was to systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of Huachansu capsules in the treatment of esophageal cancer. We searched all relevant Chinese and English documents in the Cochrane Library Clinical Controlled Trials, PubMed, EMBASE, CNKI, and VIP databases, from the time the databases were established to December 2020. The studies were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and their quality was evaluated. We used RevMan 5.4 to conduct the meta-analysis of measurement indicators and intervention measures. Six randomized controlled trials comprising 526 patients with esophageal cancer were included in the study. Compared with radiotherapy and chemotherapy alone, oral Huachansu capsules combined with radiotherapy and chemotherapy improved the clinical efficacy (risk ratio [RR] = 1.35, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17–1.55, P < 0.0001), quality of life (weighted mean difference [MD] = 10.01, 95% CI [3.39–16.64], P = 0.003), and immune level (CD3+: MD = 4.99, 95% CI [3.70–6.29], P < 0.0001; CD4+: MD = 6.49, 95% CI [5.55–7.42], P < 0.0001; CD5+: MD = 0.20, 95% CI [0.11–0.28], P < 0.0001), and reduced toxic and side effects (reductions in white blood cell count: RR = 0.63, 95% CI [0.44–0.90], P = 0.01; Reductions in blood platelet: RR = 0.70, 95% CI [0.52–0.94], P = 0.02; Gastrointestinal reaction: RR = 0.73, 95% CI [0.59–0.89], P = 0.002). However, the number of included studies was small, and conclusions still need to be further verified using larger samples and high-quality randomized, double-blind controlled trials.