Effect of Yiqi Huayu Jiedu decoction on stages II and III gastric cancer: A multicenter, prospective, cohort study

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to explore the effect of YHJD (Yiqi Huayu Jiedu decoction) in patients with stages II and III gastric cancer. METHODS: A multicenter, prospective, cohort study was conducted in Jiangsu Province Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jiangsu Cancer Hospital, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, People's Liberation Army Bayi Hospital, Changzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Changzhou Tumor Hospital, Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Kunshan, Yangzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Yixing Tumor Hospital. A total of 489 patients with stage II or III gastric cancer were enrolled after radical gastrectomy. Among them, 238 were included in the chemotherapy group (received chemotherapy alone) and 251 in the YHJD group (received chemotherapy combined with YHJD). The DFS (disease-free survival) rate, 5-year survival rate, quality of life, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) symptoms of the 2 groups were compared. RESULTS: The DFS curve of the YHJD group was higher than that of the chemotherapy group (P = .0042). The HR (hazard ratio) was 0.672, and its corresponding 95% CI (confidence interval) was 0.511 to 0.884. For stage II patients, the P value was .8323, which indicated that the difference was not significant. The risk HR was 0.938, and the corresponding 95% CI was 0.521 to 1.689. For stage III patients, the P value was .0072, indicating a statistically significant difference. The HR was 0.653, and the corresponding 95% CI was 0.477 to 0.893. The 5-year survival rate of the YHJD group was 85.29%, which was higher than that of the chemotherapy group (71.05%). Compared with the chemotherapy group, the YHJD group had better quality of life and lower TCM symptom scores. CONCLUSION: YHJD decoction is effective in improving DFS rate in patients with gastric cancer stage III after radical gastrectomy. Moreover, it can reduce the risk of recurrence and metastasis and improve the quality of life in patients with gastric cancer stage II or III after radical gastrectomy.