ObjectiveTo systematically review the effects of Liujunzi decoction on improving the quality of life (QOL) of patients with advanced primary liver cancer.
MethodsDatabases including MEDLINE, EMbase, SCI, The Cochrane Library (Issue 2, 2014), CBM, CNKI, VIP and WanFang Data were searched electronically from inception to July 2014 to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about Liujunzi Decoction for advanced primary liver cancer. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 software.
ResultsA total of 7 RCTs involving 458 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that the Liujunzi decoction group had significantly higher stability of QOL (RR=0.76, 95%CI 0.64 to 0.91, P=0.002), Karnofsky Performance Score (KPS) (MD=4.47, 95%CI 2.74 to 6.21, P<0.00001) and effective rate of TCM syndrome (RR=0.73, 95%CI 0.62 to 0.86, P=0.0001) than those of the control group.
ConclusionCurrent evidence shows that Liujunzi decoction could improve the QOL and KPS, and relieve TCM syndromes of patients with advanced primary liver cancer, especially for those with spleen deficiency-syndrome. Due to the limited quantity and quality of the included studies, the above conclusion still needs to be verified by carrying out more high-quality RCTs.
