Does Chinese herbal medicine help reduce the unpleasant side effects of chemotherapy? A recent study in the Annals of Oncology seeks to answer this important question.

Chemotherapy is powerful medicine. Because chemotherapy keeps cancer cells from growing, it also affects normal cells. The side effects from chemotherapy depend on the drug and on your individual physiology. The short-term effects generally include fatigue, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, hair loss, and a low blood count that increases the risk of infection. Rashes and mouth sores also are common.

No wonder cancer patients and doctors are eager to find ways to reduce the discomfort of chemotherapy. A study reported in the Annals of Oncology (Volume 18, page 768) looked at the effect of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) on chemotherapy patients. The results are mixed, but encouraging:

When put to the test in a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized study, CHM did not reduce the toxic blood-related effects of chemotherapy, such as low white blood cell count and severe anemia. However, it did significantly reduce chemotherapy-induced nausea.

For this study, licensed herbalists with university training and at least 15 years of experience randomly assigned 120 people in China and Hong Kong who had colon or breast cancer to receive either medicinal herbs or non-therapeutic herbs, which were taken daily during chemotherapy.

Both chemotherapy groups experienced moderate to severe reductions in white blood cells and neutrophils. In addition, four patients taking CHM and three on placebo had low neutrophil counts with fevers, requiring admission to the hospital.

But significantly fewer patients in the CHM group experienced moderate nausea from chemotherapy than did those in the placebo group -- 16% and 38%, respectively. There was no difference in the effect of CHM on other non-hematologic chemotherapy side effects.

The use of complementary and alternative medications is gaining popularity among cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Strong clinical research studies such as this one will help clarify their role in the treatment of cancer patients and help increase acceptance among healthcare providers.