Because available therapy cannot always distinguish between malignant and nonmalignant cells, the toxicity ofchemotherapeutic agents to normal tissue remains a troublesome issue. Various chemotherapeutic agents such asbleomycin, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide and L-asparaginase, which cause pulmonary fibrosis, cardiomyopathy,pancreatitis, and hemorrhagic cystitis, respectively, are familiar to radiologists. The purpose of this report isto describe the radiologic findings of various organ abnormalities related to chemotherapy.
Child* ; Cyclophosphamide ; Cystitis ; Doxorubicin ; Drug Therapy* ; Humans ; Pulmonary Fibrosis

The combination of oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin (FOLFOX) has recently been shown to be beneficial in advanced colorectal and gastric cancers. The side effects of this regimen include neutropenia, diarrhea and neurosensory toxicity. However, case reports on the pulmonary toxicities of this regimen are very limited. Especially, the development of pulmonary fibrosis has never been cited in the literature. Herein is reported the case of a patient treated with oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin combination chemotherapy in whom pulmonary fibrosis developed, but which improved after steroid pulse therapy.
Diarrhea ; Drug Therapy* ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Fluorouracil* ; Humans ; Leucovorin* ; Neutropenia ; Pulmonary Fibrosis* ; Stomach Neoplasms

Treatment of lung cancer in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is difficult because the mortality rate after surgery or chemotherapy is high for these patients. Spontaneous regression of cancer is rare, especially in lung cancer. A 62-year-old man, previously diagnosed with IPF, presented with stage IIIC (T2N3M0) non-small cell lung cancer. About 4 months later, spontaneous regression of the primary tumor was observed without treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of spontaneous regression of lung cancer in a patient with IPF.
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung* ; Drug Therapy ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis* ; Lung Neoplasms ; Middle Aged ; Mortality ; Neoplasm Regression, Spontaneous

The aim of this article was to investigate the mechanisms of emodin in antagonizing against organ fibrosis, and to illustrate that emodin can be an effective Chinese herbal preparation for treatment of organ fibrosis.
Animals ; Emodin ; therapeutic use ; Fibrosis ; drug therapy ; Glomerulosclerosis, Focal Segmental ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Humans ; Kidney ; metabolism ; pathology ; Liver Cirrhosis ; drug therapy ; Phytotherapy ; Pulmonary Fibrosis ; drug therapy

Calcium ; metabolism ; Growth Substances ; metabolism ; Humans ; Pulmonary Fibrosis ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; prevention & control ; Taurine ; therapeutic use

Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis ; drug therapy ; Phytotherapy ; methods

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of umbilical moxibustion in the treatment of patients with idiopathic pulmonary interstitial fibrosis complicated with gastroesophageal reflux of lung-spleen deficiency. METHODS: A total of 116 patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis complicated with gastroesophageal reflux of lung spleen-deficiency were randomized into an observation group (58 cases) and a control group (58 cases). In the control group, the routine treatment was applied; in the observation group, on the base of the treatment as the control group, the umbilical moxibustion was used. The treatment was given 2 times a week, 2 h each time for 12 weeks, and followed up for 12 weeks after treatment. The composite physiological indicators (CPI), TCM syndrome scores, the St. George respiratory questionnaire score (SGRQ) and 6-minute walk test (6MWT) were compared before and after treatment in the two groups. RESULTS: The improvement of the TCM syndrome scores (cough, post-activity shortness of breath, fatigue, heartburn, acid reflux), CPI score and 6MWT in the observation group was better than those in the control group (all <0.05). There was no significant difference in the scores of SGRQ scale between the two groups after treatment (>0.05). There was no significant difference in the scores of CPI scores and syndromes (cough and fatigue) between the two groups at 12 weeks after treatment (all >0.05). The 6MWT, SGRQ scale scores and syndrome scores (post-activity shortness of breath, acid reflux, heartburn) were better than those in the control group in the follow up (all <0.05). CONCLUSION Umbilical moxibustion can improve the ventilation and diffusion function of lung in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and gastroesophageal reflux of lung-spleen deficiency, reduce clinical symptoms and improve patients' quality of life and activity endurance. And it has long-term effect.
Gastroesophageal Reflux ; Humans ; Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis ; therapy ; Moxibustion ; Qi ; Quality of Life ; Spleen

The medical fungus Hirsutella sinensis has been used as a Chinese folk health supplement because of its immunomodulatory properties. Our previous studies established the antifibrotic action of Hirsutella sinensis mycelium (HSM) in the lung. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is involved in the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The present study investigates the role of HSM in mediating EMT during the development of pulmonary fibrosis. HSM significantly inhibits bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis by blocking the EMT. In addition, the expression levels of midkine are increased in the lungs of the BLM-induced group. Further analysis of the results indicates that the mRNA level of midkine correlated positively with EMT. HSM markedly abrogates the transforming growth factor β-induced EMT-like phenotype and behavior in vitro. The activation of midkine related signaling pathway is ameliorated following HSM treatment, whereas this extract also caused an effective attenuation of the induction of EMT (caused by midkine overexpression) in vitro. Results further confirm that oral medication of HSM disrupted the midkine pathway in vivo. Overall, findings suggest that the midkine pathway and the regulation of the EMT may be considered novel candidate therapeutic targets for the antifibrotic effects caused by HSM.
Bleomycin ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition ; Humans ; Midkine ; Mycelium ; Pulmonary Fibrosis/drug therapy*

BACKGROUND: Acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (AE-IPF) is an important occurrence in the natural history of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), associated with high hospitalization rates, high mortality and poor prognosis. At present, there is no effective treatment for AE-IPF. Chinese herbal medicine has some advantages in treating IPF, but its utility in AE-IPF is unclear. OBJECTIVE: The treatment of AE-IPF with Kangxian Huanji Granule (KXHJ), a compound Chinese herbal medicine, lacks an evidence-based justification. This study explores the efficacy and safety of KXHJ in patients with AE-IPF. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS: We designed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, exploratory clinical trial. A total of 80 participants diagnosed with AE-IPF were randomly assigned to receive KXHJ or a matching placebo; the treatment included a 10 g dose, administered twice daily for 4 weeks, in addition to conventional treatment. Participants were followed up for 12 weeks after the treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary endpoints were treatment failure rate and all-cause mortality. Secondary endpoints included the length of hospitalization, overall survival, acute exacerbation rate, intubation rate, the modified British Medical Research Council (mMRC) score, and the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire for IPF (SGRQ-I) score. RESULTS: The rate of treatment failure at 4 weeks was lower in the intervention group compared to the control group (risk ratio [RR]: 0.22; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.051 to 0.965, P = 0.023). There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality at 16 weeks (RR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.179 to 3.138; P > 0.999) or in the acute exacerbation rate during the 12-week follow-up period (RR: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.334 to 1.434; P = 0.317). The intervention group had a shorter length of hospitalization than the control group (mean difference [MD]: -3.30 days; 95% CI, -6.300 to -0.300; P = 0.032). Significant differences in the mean change from baseline in the mMRC (between-group difference: -0.67; 95% CI: -0.89 to -0.44; P < 0.001) and SGRQ-I score (between-group difference: -10.36; 95% CI: -16.483 to -4.228; P = 0.001) were observed after 4 weeks, and also in the mMRC (between-group difference: -0.67; 95% CI: -0.91 to -0.43; P < 0.001) and SGRQ-I (between-group difference: -10.28; 95% CI, -15.838 to -4.718; P < 0.001) at 16 weeks. The difference in the adverse events was not significant. CONCLUSION: KXHJ appears to be effective and safe for AE-IPF and can be considered a complementary treatment in patients with AE-IPF. As a preliminary exploratory study, our results provide a basis for further clinical research. TRIAL REGISTRATION Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR1900026289). Please cite this article as: Li JS, Zhang HL, Guo W, Wang L, Zhang D, Zhao LM, Zhou M. Efficacy and safety of Kangxian Huanji Granule as adjunctive treatment in acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: an exploratory randomized controlled trial. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(6): 543-549.
Humans ; Double-Blind Method ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis/drug therapy* ; Treatment Outcome

This study utilized evidence mapping methodology to systematically identify, describe, and evaluate the evidence from relevant research on traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) interventions in patients with pulmonary fibrosis. CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, SinoMed, PubMed, Web of Science, EMbase, and Cochrane Library were searched from database inception to March 2023 for systematic reviews/Meta-analysis/network Meta-analysis on TCM interventions in pulmonary fibrosis. The quality of included studies was assessed using the AMSTAR 2 scale, and the evidence mapping approach was employed to present comprehensive information on populations, intervention methods, the sample size in systematic reviews/Meta-analysis, and conclusion classifications. Ultimately, 44 systematic reviews/Meta-analysis/network Meta-analysis were included. Apart from syndrome differentiation and treatment, TCM injections accounted for a significant proportion of the observed interventions. The treatment methods were mainly focused on nourishing Qi and Yin, promoting blood circulation, resolving stasis, and dredging collaterals. The results from the included studies demonstrated that TCM treatment for pulmonary fibrosis could improve efficacy, increase lung function, improve PaO_(2 )levels, increase the 6-minute walk distance(6MWD), alleviate clinical symptoms, and enhance patients' quality of life. Based on the assessment using the AMSTAR 2 scale, methodological issues were identified, including the lack of protocol registration, failure to provide a list of excluded literature, and incomplete explanations regarding the impact of heterogeneity and bias on the results. The evidence mapping revealed that 42 conclusions were beneficial, while two conclusions were potentially beneficial. Overall, the quality of evidence was relatively low, primarily due to methodological imprecision and publication bias. Although TCM showed certain efficacy in the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis, the quality of reported literature, methodological quality, and overall evidence quality need improvement. It is recommended to conduct high-quality and standardized studies in the future to provide better evidence-based guidance.
Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Pulmonary Fibrosis/drug therapy* ; Quality of Life ; Systematic Reviews as Topic ; Network Meta-Analysis