Chinese Botanical Medicine Eases a Cancer Treatment Side Effect
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Aug. 12, 2024 -- An experimental drug based on ancient Chinese herbal medicine can help ease the toxic side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy in cancer patients, the results of a small new trial results suggest.
A small group of 24 patients experienced fewer GI side effects from their treatment for rectal cancer after they took YIV-906, researchers reported recently in the Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology.
YIV-906 is based on an 1,800-year-old treatment for stomach ailments that combined licorice, dates, peonies and skullcap, researchers said.
“This study is the first demonstration of YIV-906’s effectiveness in reducing GI toxicity caused by chemotherapy and radiation, showing the medicine’s potential of improving the patient’s quality of life while increasing treatment effectiveness,” said co-researcher Yung-Chi Cheng, a professor of pharmacology at Yale School of Medicine who helped develop the drug.
For the four-year, phase 2 study, the patients were given capsules of YIV-906 along with chemo and radiation prior to surgery.
At the time of surgery, about 17% of patients had a complete or near-complete response to their cancer treatment, while the overall survival rate at five years was 82%, results show.
Only two cases of severe diarrhea were reported among the patients. YIV-906 is meant to ease side effects like diarrhea, fatigue and nausea.
“We didn’t have any serious toxicity associated with the drug and patients found taking the drug in pill form very easy and tolerable,” senior researcher Dr. Susan Higgins, a professor of therapeutic radiology and of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at Yale.
The results warrant further testing of YIV-906 in more patients with other types of cancer, such as pelvic cancer, researchers said in a Yale new release.
People taking YIV-906 might be able to withstand harsher doses of both chemo and radiation therapy, making their cancer treatment more effective, the researchers added.
Sources
- Yale Cancer Center, news release, Aug. 9, 2024
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted August 2024
Read this next
ESPN's Jay Harris Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer
FRIDAY, June 6, 2025 — Longtime ESPN “SportsCenter” anchor Jay Harris has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and is scheduled to have surgery on June...
Immunotherapy Effective Against Stomach Cancer
FRIDAY, June 6, 2025 — Immunotherapy combined with chemo can give people a fighting chance against stomach and esophageal cancers, a new clinical trial says. People treated...
Proinflammatory Foods Tied to Higher Risk of Death in Colon Cancer Patients
WEDNESDAY, June 4, 2025 — What you eat after a colon cancer diagnosis could do more than affect your energy or digestion — it might impact your chance of...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.