Chinese Herbal Extractions for Relieving Radiation Induced Lung Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background. Radiation induced lung injury (RILI) is one of the most common and severe side effects of thoracic radiotherapy. In this meta-analysis, the effects of Chinese herbal extractions (CHE) for preventing and treating RILI are evaluated. Methods. Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) from five databases were identified. Studies were evaluated and the relevant data were extracted by two authors independently. Differences were resolved by a third party. Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.0. Results. In total, 2734 participants receiving thoracic radiotherapy were included in 28 RCTs, and 16 CHE were evaluated. Meta-analysis showed that CHE intervention significantly reduced the incidence of acute radiation pneumonitis (RP) and radiation induced pulmonary fibrosis (RIPF). In CHE group, total effective rate and remission rate of RILI patients were significantly higher. Patient's quality of life (Qol) and clinical symptoms and signs were improved significantly. Inflammatory cytokines decreased, and thymus dependent lymphocytes subgroups were improved. Conclusion. CHE intervention may have clinical effectiveness for relieving RILI and related symptoms and signs and lead to improvement of Qol. However, more double-blind, multicenter, large-scale RCTs are needed to support this theory. Trial Registration. PROSPERO International prospective register of systematic reviews has registration number CRD42016043538.