OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) combining transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in patients with primary hepatocarcinoma (PHC), and its influence on patients' immunity, quality of life and adverse reaction.

METHODSSixty-seven patients with mid-advanced stage PHC were assignd to two groups: the 35 patients in Group 1 treated with TCM combined TACE and the 32 in Group 2 treated with TACE alone. TACE with Gemzar (GEM) and Cisplatinum (DDP) were applied once in both groups, and followed by conventional post-operational management as hydration. The TCM used was prescribed according to syndrome differentiation. Peripheral blood T-lymphocyte subsets and natural killer (NK) cells of patients were measured before treatment (as the base line) and at the end of the 1st and 4th week after treatment (W1, W4), patients' quality of life (QOL) was estimated at the sametime by Karnofsky sore (KPS). Moreover, CT or MRI examination was performed at end of the 4th week to evaluate the short-term efficacy of treatment.

RESULTSShort-term efficacy analyses showed that the effective rate was 51.4% (18/35) in Group 1 and 37.5% (12/32) in Group 2, showing insignificant difference between them (P > 0.05). The levels of CD3+, CD4+, CD4+/CD8+, NK cells actionties and KPS score reduced slightly in both groups at W1, with no significant intergroup difference; but at W4, they did show significant differences between groups, and all indices in both groups were significantly different to those of the baseline and at W1 (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Aduerse reaction occurred were mainly fever, digestive reaction and lowering of peripheral white blood cell counting, platelet counting, etc. and the incidence of fever in Group 1 was lower than in Group 2.

CONCLUSIONTCM treatment combined with TACE can enhance the immunity and QOL of PHC patients, and alleviate the adverse reaction of chemotherapeutic agents.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; therapy ; Chemoembolization, Therapeutic ; methods ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Hepatic Artery ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy

Objective Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have potential value in the clinical application of various tumors. This study was to investigate the role of CTCs and their chemokine receptor CCR9 in the invasion and metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods From May 2018 to June 2019, a total of 62 patients with NSCLC in the clinical oncology center of The People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region were enrolled in this study. The CanpatrolTM CTC technique was used to detected the expressions of CTCs and CCR9 in CTCs in peripheral blood of patients. Furthermore, the relationships between expression levels of CTCs, CCR9 and clinical, pathological characteristics of NSCLC patients were analyzed. Results CTCs were detected in 56 of 62 (90.3%) NSCLC patients. CTCs counts were associated with TNM stage, lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis of NSCLC (P<0.05). In the analysis of clinical correlation between CTC subtypes and NSCLC, epithelial CTCs counts were related to TNM stage and distant metastasis of NSCLC (r=0.296 and r=0.273, P<0.05). Additionally, counts of mixed type CTCs were also correlative with NSCLC tumor metastasis (r =0.253, P =0.047). Finally, we found that the positive rate of CCR9 in mixed type CTCs was associated with distant metastasis of NSCLC (r=0.353, P=0.038). Conclusion CTCs counts and subtypes were correlated with TNM stage and metastasis of NSCLC. The expression level of CCR9 on CTC was expected to be a biomarker to evaluate the risk of tumor metastasis in NSCLC.